Falling in Love
by Itzyami
Summary: Yuki has finally realized her feelings for Peter, but now she has to figure out if they deserve a chance. The choice isn't easy when it adds suitors for Yuki and potential brides for Peter. Not only that, but all the new roles and duties of the Guardian is enough to stress her out and steal all her focus.
1. Our New Beginning

'Edmund, I swear to Aslan I will kill you,' Yuki mentally imagines, letting her anger run wild in her head.

"Why the red face, Guardian?" asks Beaver.

"Oh don't worry about it, my furry friend, you'll see when we return," Yuki promises. Beaver gives her a confused look, but nods and gets on Oreius' back.

_The Pevensies and Yuki have been the monarchs and Guardian of Narnia for about a month yet there were still followers of the White Witch lurking around. Susan and Peter often paired up to eliminate enemies in the south while Yuki and Edmund took care of the west of Narnia's borders, making sure to drive out every traitor and recruiting those who wanted to make up for their past deeds. _

_Edmund, still haunted by his past, worked the hardest out of the four, with Peter following by a close second. Like Edmund, Yuki often dreamed of another life from their old home, reminding her of how useless everyone viewed her as, and therefore fought hard to prove to Narnia and herself that she had a place there, that they can depend on her. Susan wanted to prove to others that she is more than just a pretty face, so she would often visit the library to learn as much as she can about Narnia and its neighboring countries. As a result, she would use this knowledge to handle herself in court, shocking many diplomats and making Narnians proud of their queen. Not only that, but Susan is quickly rising to the title of Narnia's best archer. Finally, little Lucy has grown even more mature. No Narnian could ever criticize her for she was too innocent and loving. Her big heart touches all who meet her, so Edmund and Yuki would often bring her along for their missions, despite Peter's protests. However, they found themselves too busy to even talk lately, but they did not complain for they always say one another at meals to attempt to reconnect. _

_It was one day when Susan and Edmund visited Yuki to talk about a topic she's feared since coronation._

_"It's time for you to tell us everything," Susan demands excitedly, jumping on Yuki as Edmund pins her to her chair._

_"When did you start liking Peter?" adds Edmund, grin widening by the second._

_"Maybe I can talk when you get off my air supply!" groans Yuki, shoving Edmund off her. He lets out a loud "Oof!" as he hits the ground, much to Yuki's satisfaction._

_"Start already!" Edmund laughs, forgetting about what just happened and rolls over. He stares at her with anticipation from the ground. _

_"Start what?" Yuki blushes, trying to move on._

_"Oh you know what!" exclaims the impatient Susan, pushing her shoulder lightly. "You liking Peter! Come on!"_

_"Okay fine!" surrenders Yuki, succumbing to the Gentle Queen. "Why did they give you the Gentle title? That was not gentle at all!" With one last glare from the two, Yuki quits stalling. "I don't know when I started liking Peter, but I've recently realized that I tend to think about him a lot and notice him in ways I never had before." _

_"Why do you like him?" Edmund asks._

_Thinking about it carefully, Yuki begins to tell them what she could think of. "I like the way he treats children. His eyes lure me in every time I look at them. I admire how he can think so quickly on his feet, like that time at the waterfall. Peter is brave, a great leader, he's willing to sacrifice so much for things and people he loves, and his heart makes him an amazing person. I really admire him and I hope I can be someone like him one day."_

_"That's so confusing," states Edmund, trying to understand her. "Isn't that just viewing him as a role model then? It seems like you've confused it with fancying someone."_

_"But isn't it okay to like someone for having qualities you want?" questions Yuki. "It's not all either, I like how he teases me and has the ability to make me feel vulnerable, comfortable, and nervous all at once. It's strange, and it sends butterflies to my stomach, but I like it."_

_"You really make no sense," Edmund groans, not understanding how girls works at all. Susan on the other hand, looked slightly torn._

_"What's wrong Susan?" asks Yuki. _

_"I'm really happy that you finally fancy someone," Susan says softly, "but a relationship between you and Peter seems logically impossible."_

_"Susan!" gasps Edmund, frantically looking between the two girls. 'How can she say something like that?!' _

_"Don't take it the wrong way, but there are just so many factors against you two being together," Susan replies apologetically. "I'd love to see you and my brother happy together but..." Yuki didn't hold it against her, she knew Susan often decided things with pros and cons and always analyzed them, but Edmund felt the opposite._

_"She's your best friend! How can you say such a thing?" he demands. "I thought you of all people would be excited about this! If you were thinking things like this in the first place, why even bother reminding her about this?"_

_"I am excited for her!" argues Susan. "But I've just realized how hard it would be!" Her glare softens when she turns toward Yuki. "I hope you don't hate me for being honest with you..."_

_"No, I know you just care about me," Yuki smiles. "But can you tell me why you think that? I don't expect things to go anywhere between me and him, but I'm curious about it."_

_"Yes, dear sister, please explain why," Edmund asks with attitude. _

_Ignoring his tone, Susan says, "First off, Peter is High King of Narnia, everyone would expect him to marry a princess of some other land to extend Narnia's relations, such as Archenland. Second, Peter is very mature for his age and I know the type of woman he likes. He wants a girl who is also mature, graceful, knowledgeable in the duties of a queen, motherly, and very ladylike. He usually liked the shy girls back in Finchley too. And out of all of those qualities, I think you fit at most only three of those." _

_She pauses, waiting for Yuki's reaction. Seeing a frown, Susan begins to feel extremely guilty, but Yuki gestured for her to continue. "You two don't really seem like a match to me, to be honest. You'd get along as friends, but I don't think you should let this crush continue. You can still save yourself from the heartbreak. Yuki, really, I'm sorry, but I really care for you and I don't want you to be hurt in the end."_

_"It's okay Susan, I know," Yuki repeats, smiling sadly. "It's only a silly crush anyways, I don't love Peter at least. Thank you though, Susan." She hugs Susan to show she had no hard feelings and was thankful for her honesty. _

_"I've got to go prepare for some diplomatic duties, I'll see you later on the training fields okay?" Susan promises, still worried. Unable to talk, Yuki simply nods and Susan exits the room._

_"That was complete nonsense!" Edmund finally booms, deeply disgusted by his sister's analysis. _

_"Edmund!" Yuki gasps, catching a nearby vase he accidentally knocked into the air._

_"Sorry," he grins sheepishly, but regains his serious tone soon after. "Don't listen to Susan. She's wrong about you and Peter."_

_"But Susan's always been right, she's such a logical person," replies Yuki._

_"Exactly, she's too logical to understand love," he rebukes. "Love isn't logic, that's no one can understand it at all, but I know the little seeds of love when I see them. You and Peter are perfect together because you're so similar and opposite at the same time!"_

_"What?" Yuki gapes, confused. "That makes no sense..."_

_"That's love for you! Love has no sense!" Edmund proclaims proudly, posing. "Yes it's true, that's what Peter would want, but Susan missed on something important. Sure, you're not that pretty compared to the princesses in this world, you're barely ladylike, you're clueless when it comes to politics and the issues here, and don't have many queenly skills-"_

_"Gee, thanks," Yuki states sarcastically. "That makes me feel so much better."_

_"You didn't let me finish," Edmund tsks, wagging his finger. "You may not be all of that, but you're a stronger fighter, you are motherly, a strong leader, accepting, perfect for mediating arguments, have a strong sense of justice, a loyal friend, and you know how to push his buttons."_

_"Okay, I see the other things are good, but how is pushing his buttons a good trait for me?" she asks, interested to see what this master knows._

_"Don't tell Peter I said this, but he is nearly perfect," Edmund explains quietly, causing Yuki to giggle. "But perfection is boring! You're clumsy! You're the perfect stimulation for him. He may not be honest about it, but if you're his life partner, you will keep his life interesting and the fact that you're a strong fighter means you can challenge him in life too. Sure, a man likes to feel superior to his woman, but he'd be bored if she's only a trophy wife."_

_"You do make sense," Yuki realizes, completely impressed by Edmund. "But you could've worded it differently, it seems slightly sexist."_

_"Yes, sorry, but I had to make you understand the way men think," Edmund apologizes._

_"Thanks for making me feel better Ed, but I don't think I'm going to do anything about me fancying Peter," apologizes Yuki. _

_"Well who are you going to marry then?" he asks. "The only other bachelors in Narnia are magical creatures! And I doubt Peter would allow you to leave Narnia for another country." _

_"Edmund, why have you been so good to me?" chuckles the older girl, reminiscing the times he's saved her from the traitors. _

_"Because you've risked your life for me more than once," he answers sweetly. "Ever since that day you tried to protect me from the White Witch, I promised myself I would always protect you. I really look up to you as an older sister that I've never had." Yuki gives him a look._

_"You have Susan..." reminds Yuki._

_"Yes, but I mean an older sister who would play pranks with me and isn't a stick in the mud," Edmund smirks back. He smacks his fist into his palm. "I've decided!" _

_"Oh no..." she groans. Edmund had the same glint in his eyes the day he did when he pulled pranks. "Edmund, please, no. Not another idea."_

_"Don't worry, it's a good one this time!" he promises. "And I know it'll work! I'm going to set you and Peter up!" Without waiting to hear her protests, Edmund rushes out the door to who knows where, leaving the older girl in shock._

* * *

"Yes, Edmund said he is too sick to accompany you today and requested for me to go with you today," states Peter, riding up next to Yuki. "We haven't had a conversation with just us, how have you been?" Maybe Yuki can thank Edmund later after all. She hated the effect fancying a boy had on her, but she did enjoy spending time with Peter.

"Just wonderful, how are you, your highness?" asks Yuki in a teasing manner, knowing how much he hated titles.

He lets out a groan. "I already told you to just keep addressing me the way you have since we met."

"Okay, how are you, King Pighead?" Yuki smiles innocently, tilting her head.

"You're lucky I can't bear to lose such an important general," Peter mumbles.

"Oh hush Peter," she laughs. "I was just teasing. All jokes aside, how has life as royalty been?"

"We'll talk as we ride. Let's go!" Peter commands the army, leading his main troops as Yuki leads Aslan's Shield behind her. "Lately kings and dukes have been hinting at my marriage."

"Already?!" gasps Yuki, eyes widening. "You've just become king a month ago! And you aren't even 18 yet!"

"Yes, and that's why they hint it," he groans. "I'm the youngest king in this land so they believe that a young and handsome king for their daughters would be a win-win."

"It does sound troublesome, but the only young and handsome king I know is Edmund. Why are they hinting for you?" she asks, unable to resist teasing him.

"Oh shove off, you know I'm more attractive than Edmund!" laughs Peter, pushing his horse into her.

"Hm, maybe," replies Yuki, pretending to think about it. Of course he is the most handsome in her eyes since she likes him, even if he only looked as attractive as the most average English boy.

"Are you flirting with me, Tanaka?" Peter gasps dramatically.

"Both of you stop flirting with each other and maybe we'd get there faster!" Beaver yells from his place on Oreius, causing both armies to laugh. The two blush and look away. Rolling her eyes, Yuki pushes him slightly before galloping away. "Hey!"

"First one to reach the western borders gets the loser's dessert when we return!" Yuki bets, urging Snowflake to go faster.

"You started early!" Peter yells, trying to sound angry, but ends up laughing a few seconds later.

* * *

They ride for a few hours and finally reach the west.

"Scout around, if you find someone, make sure you have their clear allegiance and react appropriately," orders Peter.

"You heard the High King, split into our usual 8 groups," Yuki commands to her army. "Make sure you do not lose any of your team and give the signal if you encounter enemies."

"Yes mam!/Yes sir!" were heard from behind them. The armies split into about 16 groups and divided the forest to search.

"We should stick together," Peter whispers to her, pulling on her wrist.

"Peter, if you're scared of the dark forest and need protection, you can just ask," she states bluntly. Thinking she was joking, he laughs, but stops when he realizes she was serious.

"I'm not scared, I just don't want anything to happen to you," Peter replies sweetly. "Besides, you have the witch's wand, they might target you."

"Sword and Shield team, right?" Yuki asks, holding out her hand.

"Forever and always," he promises, shaking her hand. Suddenly an arrow whizzes across them and slightly grazes Peter's arm, causing him to hiss.

"Protect the High King!" Yuki shouts, shooting an ice blast into the air to signal the troops to rush toward their location. Immediately, they could hear the Narnian troops making promises of forgiveness if the creatures would surrender and take an oath of loyalty, but none would hear of it. Yuki cringed at the sight of her fallen comrades and fought harder to avenge them and protect the remaining troops.

"Duck!" Peter shouts, jumping over her head to slice into a minotaur rushing at her as Yuki complies to his command and trips a dwarf, allowing another centaur to cut it down.

"Formation A!" Yuki commands, and a small group of Narnians and Peter surround her, protecting her from any enemies. Quickly, she jumps up in the air and releases a bunch of knives, immediately ending any approaching hags, ghouls, or creeps.

"G!" Peter yells, and Yuki slides under a troll as Peter jumps over him. He lands in front of Yuki and lifts her up for her to run/kick any nearby enemies across the chest.

"Over there!" both Yuki and Peter yell at the same time, grabbing each others' hands to swing at the person behind the other. The two move in perfect sync, playing off the other person's moves. As they fight, Yuki carefully makes walls of ice with the wand to shield the two from flying arrows while Peter slashes through the waves of minions.

* * *

The battle did not last long, for the two armies against a mere 500 witch followers had an obvious result. However that does not excuse their reason for celebrating.

"Cheers!" the Narnians yell, clanking glasses together. They had walked back to a nearby village to get wine and rum for the older Narnians. While Peter jokingly tried to order wine, Yuki knocks him over the head and demands he gets no alcohol or any of the sort until he is of age.

"I was just kidding!" Peter tries to convince her, laughing as she continues glaring at him.

"Since Susan isn't here, it's my mission to take her place," Yuki reminds him, sticking her tongue out.

"Oh please spare me those excuses," teases Peter, poking her. "You're just embarrassed to be the only one who can't handle a bit of alcohol."

"No I'm not!" she pouts, hitting him. "At least I can handle a sword!" A smirk makes its way upon Peter's face.

"Is that a challenge, Tanaka?" he asks, unsheathing his sword. Now Yuki gains a smirk of her own.

"It is now," replies the Japanese girl. The two stand up from their seats and walk to a larger space. Seeing their two leaders preparing to spar, the Narnians immediately stop drinking and surround the two, placing bets on who'd win. Of course Aslan's Shield all bet on their general.

"A man cannot lose to a woman!" protests a nearby faun, causing Yuki to throw him a death glare. Peter laughs as the faun shrieks and runs to hide.

"You're forgetting that King Peter's not yet a man!" Yuki yells over the riots, earning jeers and laughter from the spectators.

"That's going too far!" Peter yells angrily, all signs of laughter gone from his face. Driven by the anger, Peter swings first, forcing Yuki to go to defense. Knowing this spar would be a friendly serious match, Yuki lets go of all her teasing and focuses her energy into the fight.

As Peter down, Yuki twirls around to his back and attempts to strike him, only to have Peter pull his sword back to block her. Scanning Peter over, Yuki notices the easiest weak spot on Peter. She brings up her leg, but luckily Peter realizes where she is aiming and jumps away.

"Hey! I need that to bring forth the next generation!" he yells, shocked that Yuki would even try to kick him down there.

"Can't blame a girl for trying!" laughs Yuki.

The two blades collide over and over again, with neither sides giving up. The cheers went down just as the two fighters' energy began to deplete. By now, Yuki and Peter are panting for their breathes and have sweat all over them. Finally Oreius walks in between them and holds up his hands.

"Enough, consider this a draw," he declares, receiving groans and some sighs of relief from the armies.

"By the mane, I didn't think the match would end."

"I was so sure High King Peter would win!"

"And I had my bets on the Guardian too..."

"Finally, it's over."

Comments were heard from all around as Yuki and Peter shake hands.

"That was a nice fight," compliments Yuki. "You really tired me out."

"We must compete in other things once we get back," Peter suggests, still excited despite his fatigue. "You're a lot tougher than you look, Tanaka."

"And you're quite impressive yourself, Pevensie," Yuki shoots back.

"Come, we should go turn in for the night," Peter tells her softly. "It'll be a long ride back to Cair Paravel tomorrow."

"Good night, Peter," says Yuki.

"Good night, fair lady Yuki," returns Peter, kissing her hand. He turns to leave, not noticing the blush appearing on her cheeks. The spot he had kissed her hand tingled slightly and butterflies filled her stomach again, a feeling she has felt so much. She heads back to her side of the camp, receiving greetings from her army.

"You fought hard, General!" Garen compliments, and the others agree with him.

"Thank you, but King Peter was a lot stronger than I expected," sighs Yuki. "I'm going to need to train a lot harder if I wish to defeat him."

"Ha ha, you bloomin' joker!" laughs Beaver. "You and Peter have always had a rivalry haven't you? I wouldn't be surprised if challenge his kingship one day!" The two laugh at Beaver's joke. The others soon join in, making up scenarios.

"Who knows? Maybe I should take Peter's throne to show I'm better than him!" Yuki jokes back, winking at the fatherly beaver. "Good night you all, I'm going to turn in for the night." She waves to the Narnians and walk into her tent with Beaver trailing her with worry. "What's wrong Beaver?"

"You wouldn't really overtake the throne would you, Yuki?" asks Beaver. Yuki stares at him, appalled that he would even think that.

"Of course not! I was just teasing!" she protests. "You should know I'm completely loyal to the Pevensies."

"Perhaps we should clarify this fact with the rest of Aslan's Shield?" Beaver suggests. "They might take it seriously and if thing joke gets out of hand, we would have quite a situation."

"Oh Beaver, I'm sure they know a joke when they hear one," Yuki assures him. "Now, good night, Beaver." Without another word, she pushes him out of her tent and falls under a deep sleep.

* * *

"All hail the Guardian!" a voice suddenly yells, waking Yuki up.

"What?!" shouts Yuki, startled. She falls off her cot and looks up to see her army holding Peter hostage. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"I was hoping _you'd _tell _me__," _hisses Peter, glaring at her.

"What?" Yuki asks, completely confused by the situation and half asleep.

"Your army kidnapped me in the middle of the night and took me hostage because the Guardian wants to overthrow the current High King," Peter growls. Yuki's eyes widen in shock.

"You said you wanted to be the ruler of Narnia!" one of the hags says.

"All hail the Guardian!" a minotaur yells, starting a chant throughout Yuki's army. However, Yuki continues to stare at them in shock, unable to say a word.


	2. Off to Wavern Woods

With much confusion and much threats from both sides, the two armies finally settled the kidnapping of the High King and Yuki and Peter decide to end the mission early so they can resolve the confusion in Narnia.

"And _that's _what happened apparently," Yuki finishes, embarrassed at her army's actions.

"They really don't know what a joke is?" Edmund questions for the hundredth time.

"That's so sad," Lucy sighs. "The White Witch must've not allowed them any fun or joy at all!"

"Now we know we should watch our words around them," Peter says, glaring at Yuki while she massages his back to apologize.

"Come, we must address this situation and clear it up publicly or the Narnians will be quite upset with Yuki and Aslan's Shield," Susan claims, being the most logical of the group.

"She's right," Yuki sighs. "You guys know I really didn't mean those things right? I'd never betray you." She looks down, afraid to see disappointment in their eyes. However Peter rolls his eyes and puts a comforting hand over her shoulder.

"You're very annoying, but yes, we all know that," he replies, smiling at her. Edmund smirks at their physical contact. "I'll be there to support you."

"So will I, let's go," Lucy offers, holding her hand. Taking a deep breath, Yuki leads the monarchs out to the stage.

"I heard the Guardian's betrayed the High King and they will banish her soon," a faun whispers.

"But she's our friend!"

"Really? Someone told me that the Guardian was betrayed by her troops!" another nymph gossips to a dryad.

"What happened?"

"The White Witch's followers have planned this betrayal and framed her!"

All kinds of rumors traveled across the crowd, each crazier than the last. Finally, Peter holds up his hand, silencing the crowd.

"Peace, friends," Peter commands. The crowd silences as the High King comes into view. "We know there are many different rumors about the incident with Aslan's Shield." At the title, everyone glares at Yuki's army, who in turn glare back. "However, everything is just a huge misunderstanding. The truth is..." He trails off, embarrassed to continue, so Yuki takes over.

"You see, it all started with a joke..."

* * *

By the time Yuki finishes her explanation, no one dared or could make a sound. Instead, they all stared at their monarchs and Guardian with disbelief. Could the White Witch's former army be so dense as to not know a joke when they hear one?

"You've all mentioned this 'joke'! But no one's explained to us what it means!" a werewolf states, breaking the awkward silence. Behind him, agreements were heard, causing the Narnians to shake their heads and for the Pevensies and Yuki to simply stare.

As the first to regain herself, Lucy says, "Well, you see, a joke..." They wait for her to finish. "Well, I don't know how to exactly explain it, but it's meant to make you laugh."

"A joke is something one says or does to cause amusement or laughter," Susan defines knowledgeably.

"So if I do this, is it a joke?" a battle ox asks, punching the werewolf next to him. The crowd from Aslan's shield cackle at the action while Yuki tries to hide her amusement. Despite their gruesome appearance, their clueless acts are absolutely adorable. Peter glares at Yuki as Edmund chuckles lightly.

"Not exactly," Edmund says, trying to regain posture.

"Let me give you an example," Peter says. They watch as he thinks for a minute or two. "Knock knock." The Narnians stare with confusion, forcing him to look to Edmund for help.

"Who's there?" he groans, rolling his eyes.

"Who?" Peter asks, smirking as if he had the best joke ever.

"Who, who?" Edmund replies, trying to play along.

"Is there an owl in here?" Peter asks, laughing on his own. However the crowd looks on with confusion, silencing Peter. "You were supposed to laugh after that."

"Why?" asks a minotaur.

"B-because!" sputters Peter, trying to think of an answer. "You see, in our world, an owl makes the sound 'Hoo hoo!' And I made Edmund say that, so of course I asked if there's an owl here."

"But why would we ask who's there when someone knocks on our door?" a hag asks. "What if we don't like the person?"

"Wouldn't it be better to check who's there ourselves in case we want to pretend we are not home?" asks another ghoul. As they ask more questions, Peter face palms himself. Finally Edmund decides to help out.

"Let me give you a better example," he laughs. "You see, there are good jokes and bad jokes, but they are all still jokes. Peter's given you an example of a bad one, now let me show you what a good one is." The crowd laugh slightly as Peter crosses his arms and grumbles.

"That is also a joke actually," Lucy points out quickly.

"So do you see how our High King's hair is growing slightly out?" asks Edmund, and everyone nods. Peter groans, knowing he's going to be the victim for Edmund's next 50 jokes. "You can say he's about to become a werewolf." In response, the crowd laughs lightly, imagining their king as a hairy wolf. The werewolves in the army howl with pride.

* * *

The four humans finally had enough of Edmund's jokes and left him with Narnians to go on entertaining them while they return to their meeting room.

"It's good that we've finally settled that," Lucy sighs, hopping on her chair. "It would be quite sad if we went to war again."

"Yes, and we've managed to settle that just in time," adds Susan.

"Why? Is something big coming up?" asks Yuki, walking over to her friend.

"Yes, King Lune of Archenland is planning to visit us to congratulate us on our progress," she states. "He will be arriving in a week. I've already arranged a ball to welcome him."

Finally Edmund enters the meeting room.

"I am the Just and Jest King!" he proclaims proudly, raising his hands in the air.

"You're just in time for our plans, Ed," Yuki greets, ruffling his hair.

"And who is Archenland again?" asks Peter, rubbing his eyes. Susan gives him a look.

"King Lune!" Susan spits out angrily. "King Lune of Archenland is one of our best potential allies! He's coming with a boy about Lucy's age too, Prince Core I believe."

"Actually, I think it was Prince Corin," corrects Edmund, earning a thankful nod from Susan.

"Hurray, a new friend!" Lucy cheers.

"So that means we finally get to wear our ball gowns?" asks Yuki, excited. Susan nods with enthusiasm.

"Oh, Susan, Yuki, you two will look so beautiful in the Narnian ball gowns!" Lucy squeals. "Yuki, please let me do your hair! Dorea's been teaching me how to braid!"

"Of course, if you'd let me help you get ready," smiles Yuki, glad to see the little girl so happy. Unlike the three girls, the boys were awfully sluggish to hear about another ball.

"That means a lot of dancing doesn't it?" groans Edmund.

"This is important to an alliance between Archenland and Narnia," informs Susan, going through her papers. "Peter, Edmund, and Yuki, you three are expected to impress King Lune during his visit. Most likely King Lune will have much of his nobles accompanying him, so that means many of them may bring their daughters along."

"You expect us to talk to _girls_?!" Edmund exclaims in disbelief.

"Don't worry about it, Susan, you can count on me to protect and appeal to King Lune," states Yuki, bowing. "Is there anything else?"

"Oh! Some of the animals have been dealing with the reconstruction with much difficulty," reports Lucy, frowning. "They requested for some assistance in rebuilding their homes in the Wavern Woods in the east. I wish I can go help, but the Healing Wing needs me tomorrow to heal some injured griffins."

"Susan, can you take care of this problem?" asks Edmund. "It sounds like they would need a motherly touch for comfort."

"I wish I could, but I have three cases in court tomorrow and prepare for King Lune's arrival," replies Susan.

"I'll go then," offers Yuki. "It pains me to hear that such creatures are suffering. I promise to improve the conditions for them!" Her determination brings a smile upon Lucy's face.

"Thank you!" Lucy squeals, hugging her. "Please send them my regards and that I will visit them as soon as I get back from my mission."

"Of course, Lucy," promises Yuki.

"Then I'll go too," Peter volunteers. "Maybe with both our armies, their homes will be rebuilt faster."

"We do make a good team," Yuki smiles, returning his hug. "Will you be coming along too, Edmund?" An amused glint shines in his eyes.

"Oh no, I think I will take care of Aslan's Shield's punishment," he chuckles, causing Yuki to furrow her brows in confusion.

"Wait, what punishment?" Lucy asks.

"Well, even though their kidnapping happened because of a joke, they still did commit a crime," Edmund points out. "But luckily I managed to convince the Narnians to lighten their punishment. Instead of exiling them, we shall simply give them tougher training and more missions to make it up."

"Thank you Edmund, you're the best!" Yuki laughs gratefully, tackling him in a hug. "Thank you for protecting them! I don't know what I'd do if they were to be banished at my expense."

"You're hugging a lot today, aren't you?" teases Susan. "May I have one too?" Giggling, Yuki nods and hugs her Susan.

"Wait, so Yuki would not have an army for the reconstruction of Wavern Woods?" asks Peter, disappointed at the lack of volunteers.

"Well originally, they are to train under my supervision, but this is community service," Edmund thinks aloud. "I guess this is the beginning of their punishment. When the other troops get a break, Aslan's Shield must continue working."

"Thank you," Yuki whispers, happy that her troops escaped a harsh punishment. "We'll do our best!" She turns back to Peter. "So, when do we set off for Wavern Woods?"

"We leave tonight after dinner," Peter states.

* * *

"Have you found the map to Wavern Woods yet?" questions Peter, entering the meeting room. Earlier at dinner, Yuki finished early to study the geography of Wavern Woods.

"No, it's so strange," Yuki groans. "I've checked at least 3 different atlases already, but none of them contain Wavern Woods. The closest thing I've gotten to it is that Wavern Woods is extremely small."

"Maybe it's so small that our mapmakers decided it's not needed to include it?" Peter suggests, looking at the book over her shoulder. Feeling the closeness, Yuki's body stiffen, attempting to not make any strange movements.

"Maybe," she whispers in response. A small gasp escapes her throat when Peter leans down, resting his elbow on her shoulder to get a closer look at the maps. His face is so close to her! What should she do? What if she stinks from sweat of the battle? Can he smell it? Oh that's ridiculous, Susan forced her to bathe before dinner, so the sweat should be off. But what if her natural scent stinks? What _is _her natural scent? Oh dear... Wait... Yuki subtly sniffs the air, taking in Peter's scent. She smiled softly, smelling a light scent of sweetness from him 'He smells so good.' The heavy weight on her shoulder finally lightens.

"What's wrong?" asks Peter. Turning toward her, he chuckles, seeing her wide eyes as he sits down next to her. "Is my presence too dazzling for you?" He strikes a pose, snapping Yuki out of her trance and throwing a book at him.

"You wish," Yuki laughs nervously. "I don't think our maps will have it, let's just ask Lucy." She quickly stumbles out of her chair as Peter continues laughing and following her.

"Why don't you get the information from Lucy while I round up the two armies?" Peter asks.

"That's fine, we'll meet in the east entrance in one hour," Yuki agrees and the two split. Lucy had mentioned her duties earlier, so Yuki assumed she can find Lucy in the library. "Lucy? Are you in here?"

"Is that you, Yuki?" asks an excited voice. In a blink of an eye, Yuki is tackled down by a small body.

"Whoa! Where's the fire?" Yuki demands, glancing around. But a giggle from Lucy immediately calms her down. "Why'd you tackle me?"

"I may or may not have accidentally slipped the fact that you like Peter to her," Edmund's guilty voice chimes. The older girl sends him a quick glare because looking back at Lucy.

"You two would make a wonderful couple!" Lucy squeals. "And not to mention it will save Peter from the discomfort of meeting all those ladies of other countries!"

"Whoa there!" Yuki laughs nervously, trying to shake Lucy off. "I admit I do have some feelings for your brother, but I believe they will not escalate to anything beyond a high school crush."

"But Yuki!" pouts Lucy, giving her the ultimate puppy dog look she's mastered on Peter for years. Mustering all her strength, Yuki turns away. "But why don't you want to marry my brother?" Her soft voice causes Yuki to look down, which she regrets right away. Edmund smirks, knowing Yuki had a weakness against Lucy and other children pouting.

"It's not that I don't want to marry him," Yuki groans.

"So you DO want to marry him!" Edmund yells in an "Ah-ha!" voice, earning a high five from Lucy.

"No!" shouts Yuki, rejecting the idea.

"You don't?" Lucy pouts playfully again.

"No I- I- AH!" Releasing a frustrated and embarrassed groan, Yuki crazily beats the bookshelf next to her. "Look, that has nothing to do with anything!" Her red face causes Lucy and Edmund to cackle at her discomfort. "Please hurry Lucy, Peter and I need a map to get to Wavern Woods. We couldn't find it in any of the maps."

"Oh my, right away," Lucy complies and runs to create a quick sketch of the routes. "This will have to do for now. If you need help, simply send me a message through the trees."

"Thank you, Lu. I shall report to you three once we return!" promises Yuki, running out. She suddenly stops before opening the door. "Oh, if you have time, please have our map makers include Wavern Woods and any other small areas and villages in an updated map as soon as possible."

"I'll do that!" volunteers Edmund enthusiastically. "Have a safe trip." After making sure Yuki is gone, the two younger Pevensies face each other. "Are you still going to help me set them up?"

"Of course!" Lucy agrees happily. "She makes it so obvious that she wants to be with him!"

* * *

"Finally! What took you so long?" the High King asks playfully, helping Yuki onto her horse. Lucy taunting her about her crush makes its way into Yuki's head.

"Lucy and Edmund were talking a lot, that's all," Yuki replies quickly, shaking her head. "I've got the map." She hands Peter the map so he can lead the way.

"Alright, come on troops! Move out!" commands Peter, and everyone begins riding into the night.

* * *

"Peter, are you sure you're going the right way?" Yuki whines against Snowflake's head.

"Please sire, please say yes!" the horse pleas, praying for her mistress to stop whining.

"Yes, we are!" Peter growls, feeling the same annoyance as Snowflake. "According to Lucy's map, we should be there in about 5 more miles."

"Oh dear, I sure wish Narnia had more maps of the smaller villages," Beaver groans from Yuki's back.

"Tell me, trai- I mean Garen, when you worked for the White Witch, have you ever attacked villages near Wavern Woods?" Oreius asks. Garen scoffs, obviously annoyed by the slip up from Oreius, but lets it go, for no one was in the mood for internal struggles.

"No, we simply left a blanket of snow there," he growls.

"We did not waste our time with small villages," Gore the werewolf adds.

"Oh, I've had it! Let me see that map!" Yuki groans, snatching the poorly drawn map out of Peter's hands.

"Hey!" Peter shouts.

"No wonder it's taking so long!" criticizes Yuki. "You were holding it upside down!"

"No I wasn't! You snatched it when it faced that way!" argues Peter. Both armies groan, knowing they would probably not reach the village until the next day at this rate. First, their leaders are arguing and second, they no longer know if they are lost or going the right way. Suddenly a tearing sound shocks everyone. Both Yuki and Peter stand there, each holding half the map in their hands.

"Look at what you did!" they yell in unison. "ME?! YES YOU! STOP COPYING ME!"

"Why don't we just send the werewolves, wolves, and cheetahs to scout the area and find clues?" Beaver suddenly suggests in a 'duh' tone. Silence falls upon the High King and his Guardian.

"Great idea Beaver," Oreius agrees. "Go! Check the area and return in 5 minutes!" Immediately they spread out and cover the area, forcing everyone else to wait. but most importantly forced the two leaders to quit their silly argument and give everyone else peace. Finally one of the soldiers come back.

"Luster! What did you find?" Yuki demands impatiently, yet gently when she recognizes her soldier.

"My Guardian! I found a nearby village being attacked!" he pants. "That way! two more miles!" He points to the east river, trying to catch his breath.

"Come on everyone!" Peter shouts, mounting his horse again.

"Luster, stay here and take a well deserved rest," Yuki commands, and the werewolf nods gratefully, slumping against the tree. "Snowflake, I want you to stay here and protect him. If enemies come, take him and run to us immediately. When our troops come back, lead them toward us." Leaving the two behind, she jumps on behind Peter, who has been waiting for her.

"Let's go!" commands their High King, riding off to lead the troops. Yuki raises her wand into the air and sends an ice blast into the air to summon the troops who ran off to scout.

"I've signaled them, so they should be there to back us up soon," Yuki informs him.

"Good. Yuki, are you with me?" asks Peter, turning to her with concern.

"Forever and always my king," she smiles back, drawing her blade.

"For Narnia and for Aslan!" Yuki and Peter declare pridefully, approaching the village.


	3. New Additions to the Family

"Help! Someone please save us!" a shrill voice cries, catching Yuki's attention.

"Keep screaming! I'm coming to you!" Yuki orders back, slashing her way through the harpies. Good thing they are not fighting against the Witch's minions anymore.

"Mama!" a smaller voice shrieks. The baby's fear sends adrenaline through Yuki, forcing her to run even faster. When she reaches the voices, she sees a harpy clawing at a small family of bunnies, successfully scarring the mother that protected her children. Yuki lets out a loud war cry and strikes down the harpy before turning to the furry creatures.

"Are you alright?" she asks the babies, knowing the mother wished to know the same.

"Mama's not okay!" one of the four rabbits cried, and they all surround her to lick the wound.

"Peter!" Yuki desperately calls out for Peter, praying that he will come to them soon. Knowing she has to help, but unable to leave the rabbits by themselves, she carefully and gently places all five rabbits under a bush. "Stay hidden under here, I must help the others." Before leaving, she could hear the small rabbits crying for their mother and prayed with all her might and faith that the mother will make it.

"Guardian watch out!" Grethel warns, jumping back to back with her and reflects an attack against a harpy.

"Thank you!" she gasps. If it weren't for him, Yuki might've been killed!

"Go to the High King, if you two are together, this battle will not last long!" he suggests, and tackles another harpy, allowing Yuki to throw a blade into her. "Where is the High King?!"

"He's at the other side of the village!" another ghoul answers, pointing to the northwest direction. "Make way for the guardian!"

Taking advantage, of their help, Yuki smiles at them gratefully and runs to Peter. With the help of their troops, they soon meet up and just as Grethel said, the battle ends about 20 minutes after Peter and Yuki connect. To Narnia, she, Peter, and Edmund are the invincible trio, and even without Edmund, they are still the ultimate duo.

"Round up any residents of this village and gently bring the injured to the center!" Peter orders. "I want every villager present and accounted for!"

"Peter, come with me!" Yuki gasps, remembering the family of rabbits. Before he could protest or ask why, Yuki drags him roughly across the village to the bush she hid them under. Once in a while Peter would yell for the villagers to trust troops from Aslan's Shield since the small animals are so fearful of the White Witch's former army. A battle ox approaches them grimly, cradling something.

"Guardian! I tried, but..." the battle ox's voice trails off as he gestures down to a bunny carcass in his arms. Four familiar rabbits trail after him, crying. "I tried my best to save her, I'm sorry for failing you."

"It's okay, you tried your best, and that is all I can ask of you," Yuki replies sadly, taking the mother rabbit into her arms. "Peter, what are we going to do? These four rabbits are still babies, what are they going to do now that their mother's..."

"One suggestion is we can have one of the other villagers adopt them, or," he looks to Yuki with a pained smile, "or we can raise them in Cair Paravel."

"Oh yes!" one of the rabbits squeal before Yuki can answer, causing the others to cry in agreement.

"Please don't leave us here! We have no one left!" the oldest exclaims.

"See? They'd love it there," Peter adds on, giving her the puppy dog look. Yuki sighs, it really feels as if it's her fault their mother died. She shouldn't have left them. Unable to turn them down, she reluctantly agrees.

"With the High King pleading with me to allow him to raise rabbits in his own palace? How can I say no?" Yuki teases, but the smile drops when she looks back down in her arms. The dead mother rabbit seemed so peaceful now, but it does not change the fact that she died. "But first, maybe we can bury her?"

"Of course," Peter replies, smiling at Yuki's emotional face for the rabbits. He gently takes the carcass from her arms and the rabbits lead them to an area next to a river bank.

"Mama always loved the water," one of the rabbits says.

"Then she shall lay at rest here," Peter states, placing the body on a leafy bed Yuki makes. Together, Yuki and Peter dig up a grave and bury the body inside, leaving a stick on top to represent a tomb stone. Finally, Peter digs his blade's tip into the ground in front of the ground and kneels down. "Your children will be safe, we will take them in and I promise we will raise them with as much love as you'd want them to have."

"I'm sorry, but because of me, you're dead," Yuki cries, tearing up on the grave. "I'll make sure your rabbits grow up big and strong and happy. We'll forget the grave mother you were. Hontou ni, gomenasai!" She bows lowly, showing her respect.

"Did she cast a spell?" the youngest rabbit whispers to Peter. Its innocence causes them to laugh lightly.

"No, she's just speaking from the bottom of her heart," he says, staring at the Japanese girl in front of him. Yuki giggles, and quickly wipes her tears away.

"Why don't you say some last words to your mother?" she asks as Peter walks over to hug her tightly. "Peter?"

"When you feel down, the best cure is a hug," he whispers to her. "Yuki is right, please say your last words to your mother and we will return to the village in order to rebuild it."

"Mama, I'll always love and remember you," the older says confidently. "I'll watch over the other three and be a good big brother to them!" He steps back and allows his brothers and sister say their words.

"Thank you for saving us, mama," one chokes, hiding his head in his brother's stomach. "I love you!"

"I love you mama, and don't worry about us," the other says. "The High King and Guardian are taking us in." Finally the youngest, the sole sister, hops to the grave.

"I'll miss you mama!" she cries. Yuki separates herself from Peter and quickly kneels down, stroking her as Peter hugs the three older brothers. "I'll always remember how you would warm us at night! And how you make carrots for breakfast, lunch and dinner! And how you always nuzzle us! Oh mama..." Seeing the youngest cry just broke her heart. If only she didn't leave them... The mother might still be alive.

"Come, we should return," Peter speaks softly, picking up all three brothers as Yuki holds the crying sister in her arms.

* * *

"First off, Aslan's Shield! Group 1-3 will take care of the north and east sides of the village, groups 4-6 will rebuild the west and south side, and groups 7 and 8 will collect the building materials," commands Peter. "As for my army, centaurs and fauns will build the walls surrounding the village. I want the animals to help carry materials back for Yuki's army to build."

"I'll help out in the north and east sides, and then I'll supervise a bit before helping the other groups," Yuki offers, tying up her hair with a ribbon.

"Wait!" Peter yells, surprising her with his sudden loudness. When he receives strange stares, he blushes slightly. "Um, I'll go with you!"

"I think you should go to the west and south side instead," says Yuki with disappointment. "It wouldn't be fair if both of us help only one side."

"Don't worry, we'll just go with the other side later," Peter shrugs, taking her by the hand. Yuki blushes at the contact, but makes no move to stop him this time.

"Your highness, Guardian, the troops on this side are gathering logs as we speak," a faun, Felix, reports as the two approach the east side. Yuki frowns, seeing the trees falling.

"What's wrong?" asks Peter with worry.

"Is it really necessary to cut down the trees?" she asks, concerned about the magical creatures. "Aren't there any other ways to build these walls?"

"Well another way would be bricks or stone, but that would take longer," Felix answers.

"No, Yuki's rights," Peter sighs, ashamed that he didn't think of it before. "Felix, send word around camp that we will be using as little trees as possible, use as much stones and other materials as you can." Yuki looks down at the wand in her hand, getting an idea. She lifts the wand high on in the air and sends an ice beam at the boundary of the village. Soldiers step back in surprise, bewildered at the sudden ice, but calmed down once they realize it was only Yuki. Peter and the Narnians stare in awe as Yuki slowly creates a wall of ice to surround and act as gates to the village. However, unlike the White Witch's ice walls, Yuki's look beautiful and pure.

"Now we won't have to cut the trees!" a cheetah cheers. "We can use the trees in the walls to build homes for the animals."

"Good idea, Yuki," Peter compliments her. "I'll help Felix spread word about not using trees. I trust you to continue building the walls for them."

"At your command!" Yuki jokes, and gets back to work. Since she is still not too skilled with the wand, she sloppily builds up slightly crooked walls, but the beauty of it was so surreal that no one but her noticed her lack of skills. The soldiers around her begin their work at building houses. As the residents of the village describe where to chop, their soldiers complied obediently, causing Yuki to smile at the harmony between them all.

Despite it being a small village, Yuki was only able to finish 3/4 of the walls for it by the time night came. The troops went to rest, but due to their punishment, Aslan's Shield had to continue working. Peter had commanded them to forage food for the village or build a stream from the river into the village so the animals can grow crops.

Yuki enters the tent she and the rabbits are sharing, but jumps when she finds a familiar boy on her cot.

"Peter what are you doing in here?" Yuki gasps, quickly closing the flaps of her tent. "Do you know how improper it is for a boy to be in a girl's room this late?"

"But mama and papa have to sleep together!" a small voice cries. Yuki whips around the room, unable to find the source of the voice. Her eyes widen at the sight of random movements from Peter's tummy.

"Peter! Did your tummy just talk?" Yuki asks, confused. Peter however, finds the whole scene amusing and begins laughing, forcing out four rabbits from under his shirt. "I might regret asking this, but why do you have the rabbits in your shirt?"

"Oh Yuki, please relax once in a while," Peter chuckles softly, but blushes when Yuki gives him a look asking 'Are you mental?' "They were cold, so I simply warmed them under my shirt. As for your first question, no it is not improper so long as we don't do anything. And as we are us, we will not do anything."

"Sorry Peter, you might not understand honor since you are a male, but for ladies, their honor is very important," Yuki chastises, blushing as she pushes him out the tent.

"Hey, men have pride in their honor too!" Peter counters, still laughing at her high strung antics. "Fine! I'll talk to you outside!" He pulls her out into the cold night with him and the four rabbits. "There, now we aren't in your tent and no one will say anything."

"Fine," she sighs, defeated. "Why were you in my tent?"

"Papa named me!" the eldest rabbit sibling brags, puffing out his chest.

"Oh? And what did he name you?" Yuki teases, expecting a horrible name because... Well, because it's Peter.

"Wit!" Wit cries proudly, and his siblings cheer with glee.

"Wit?" Yuki repeats, testing the name.

"Wit," Peter replies with a satisfied smirk. "He's very witty, he's quite mature for his age, so therefore, Wit."

"I guess it does fit him," laughs Yuki as Wit hops around her legs. "This wonderful news is worth the trip to my tent."

"Actually, mama and papa are supposed to sleep together," the youngest rabbit chimes. Peter and Yuki look at each other with awkwardness.

"We aren't actually married, we only adopted you," Peter says slowly, careful not to burst their bubbles.

"Then you should get married!" the third brother says bluntly.

"I'm sure they have other plans," Wit interrupts, sensing the worry from Yuki and Peter. "Come, boys sleep with papa and sister will sleep with mama." With that, Wit rounds them up to their assigned tents.

"I'll be waiting for you mama," the little female rabbit giggles and hops into Yuki's tent.

"Well, they can be quite awkward," Peter nervously chuckles.

"Yeah," whispers Yuki, avoiding Peter's eyes. The silence grew louder until Yuki felt as if she could cut the tension with a knife. Should she say something? Yeah, let's break this awkward silence.

"Hey-" they both say suddenly, but stop and look down laughing when they realize they both wanted to speak.

"You first," Peter laughs, gripping his sword tightly.

"Good work today, " Yuki thanks him.

"Me? What about you?" reminds Peter. "Your ice walls were amazing! You probably saved a lot of dryads or nymphs from suggesting that today! I'm sure this new idea might allow use to finish rebuilding tomorrow. Our expected time is definitely cut." As Peter threw compliments at her, Yuki just blushed harder and harder. She disliked feeling so girly, but at the same time the feelings he gave her made her feel so happy.

"It was just a struck of luck," she denies humbly. "All my walls were so crooked."

"Well luck or not, you've really helped us out," Peter says, clapping her on the shoulder. Yuki jumps, feeling a tingle where he touched her. "Come on, it's getting late. We should sleep. Good night, Yuki." Yuki stands there, waving at his back as Peter walks to his tent. Smiling, Yuki turns around and walks into her tent. She walks over to a small, peaceful white fluff of a rabbit sleeping on her pillow. Smiling, Yuki gives her a soft kiss before letting sleep take over.

* * *

"Good morning!"

"Ah!" Yuki shrieks, falling off her cot as something jumps on her. She quickly grabs her sword and is about to swing it until she hears Peter laughing. Sighing, she drops her sword and begins rubbing her eyes. "What's going on?"

"I thought the greeting was obvious, good morning!" teases Peter, flicking her forehead.

"Ow," whines Yuki, pouting and swatting Peter's hand away. She looks at her cot to see the four rabbit siblings hopping up and down. "Good morning sweeties." Peter stands there, giving Yuki an anticipating look. "What?"

"Do I get a good morning?" he asks, giving her a cute grin.

"No, I don't like you," Yuki teases back. Peter throws a hand over his heart and makes a mocking hurt look.

"Oh, that hurts!" Peter playfully cries on her shoulder. "I thought you love me!" He throws himself onto her back and pretends to sob. Jumping at the physical contact, Yuki pushes him away in hopes of stopping the butterflies inside.

"Okay okay! Ohaiyo!" Yuki groans, rubbing her eyes and using her left hand to hide her red face. The sight of Yuki rubbing her eyes just seemed so childish that Peter couldn't help but laugh. "What?"

"You're such a child," Peter laughs. He walks over to the side of her tent and grabs a cloth, wets it, and walks back over to her. "Here stand still." Feeling his warm touch, Yuki flinches again and tries to shake him off, but something inside her wouldn't let her move. Peter's rough hands gently removes her own hands away from her face before softly wiping the wet cloth on her face. Heat rushes to her cheeks as she stares at the blue eyes in front of her. It didn't help that Peter concentrated on her face so much that he continued closing the space between them without realizing. On the other hand, Yuki stands there, frozen, as Peter holds her face in his hand while the other one wipes it. Finally the butterflies in her stomach reach her brain and Yuki headbutts Peter accidentally.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" she apologizes, rushing over to care for his bloody nose. "Oh, I have no idea why I did that!"

"Papa's bleeding! Papa's bleeding!" the three younger rabbits cry, hopping around. Wit hands Yuki another wet cloth.

"Here, wipe it!" he tells her.

"Thank you!" exclaims Yuki, helping Peter sit on her cot so she can plug his nose. "I'm so sorry!"

"Why did you do that?" groans Peter, tilting his head forward.

"You got a bit too close and I..." her voice trails off, too embarrassed to continue. However it was enough to diminish Peter's anger.

"I see," chuckles Peter.

"Hm?" However her question goes unanswered as Peter stands up and wipes away the last drops of blood.

"Oh, nothing," he sings teasingly. "Come, we should help the troops build the rest of the village today. Then we can head home."

"Work hard!" the second youngest yells, following them out of the tent.

"We'll help the elders grow crops!" the youngest informs them, following Wit.

"Stay safe!" Yuki shouts back to them.

"Today we'll help the south side of the village," reminds Peter. "I'll start on the houses with everyone else, come find me once you finish the last wall."

"Of course, your highness," Yuki accepts, taking off to start the long day.

* * *

"Okay, last house!" declares Peter, and everyone cheers. They were almost done!

"I need an axe!" Yuki calls over the crowd, and a battle ox hands her his axe. "Thank you, Asereo." Putting her strength into it, Yuki chops into the tree. Peter stands across from her and swings his axe as she pulls her axe out. The two chop away together until they make a nice opening.

"Now, Beaver, if you'd please," Peter requests, making way for the furry creature. Beaver immediately dives in and begins chewing into the tree. Before they know it, Beaver chews his way up the trunk, making enough space for a house.

"Thank you, High King Peter and Guardian," the villager leader says happily. "We are eternally grateful for all your help."

"Long live King Peter! Long live Guardian Yuki!" the villagers cheer, throwing flowers into the air.

"Do not thank us, we are merely doing our duties," Peter responds kindly, shaking hands with the elderly turtle.

"He he, papa said 'duty'," the youngest brother rabbit snickers to his siblings. The sister rolls her eyes as Wit thumps him subtly, only the second eldest is laughing. Unable to contain the adorableness, Yuki lets out a quiet giggle, but clears her throat when Peter glares at her.

"I wish you a safe journey back, your majesty," the turtle blesses, and turns to lead his villagers back in. Peter mounts his unicorn and rides with Wit and the second elder brother. Yuki mounts Snowflake with the two younger rabbits.

"Let's return to Cair Paravel!" commands Peter. "It's time we go home."


	4. Arrival of King Lune

A week have passed since Peter and Yuki returned from Wavern Woods and the two have grown closer since then. One of the most commonly heard things around Cair Paravel nowadays would be Peter asking for volunteers, which Yuki would offer herself, or Peter telling Yuki that he needs her.

* * *

_"Peter, are you sure you're alright?" asks Lucy, worried for her brother. "You've been quite tired since you and Yuki returned from Wavern Woods, haven't you?"_

_"I'm fine," denies Peter. "Although I wouldn't mind getting a massage either." _

_"Here," offers Yuki, getting up from her chair and walking behind Peter. "Lean forward." Peter does as he is told and sighs blissfully when Yuki gently yet firmly adds pressure to his back. Edmund smirks at the sight of the two as Susan quirks an eyebrow._

_"Oh my! You two look like-" Lucy is interrupted when Edmund covers her mouth._

_"Nothing!" he squeaks. "But Yuki, you know, you should take the chance to hit him right now!" Thanks to Edmund's idea, Yuki looks down at Peter evilly, only for him to stop her._

* * *

_"Peter please!" Lucy pleads. "Come ride with me!"_

_"Lucy, I'm sorry, but I must attend a meeting today," Peter apologizes. "Susan? Can you go?"_

_"I'm sorry, but I am meeting with King Lune's messenger today," Susan says sadly. "Lucy, can't you wait for another day?"_

_"No, I'm not riding for myself," Lucy cries. "There's a family of harpies that have been injured and I want to go help them."_

_"I'm not going near another harpy again after what happened," Edmund shudders, remembering the time a harpy tried to kidnap him when he was patrolling with Yuki._

_"I'm sorry Lucy," Peter tells her. "But I rather you wait another day than go without any of us."_

_"I'll go with her, Peter," Yuki volunteers, standing up and receiving a grateful smile from him._

_"Yes!" cheers Lucy. "Yuki is perfect for guarding me! She is the Guardian."_

_"Well then, I'll trust my beloved sister in your hands, dear Guardian," thanks Peter._

* * *

The four Pevensies and Yuki would always be seen with at least one other from their group now that they have gotten used to their roles. Most of all, whenever there is training, if Peter is there, one is sure Yuki will also be there and vice-versa. Lucy absolutely adored the rabbits they returned with and the five finally found names for the last three; the second eldest was dubbed Happy (for his carefree nature), the second was named Carrot (Courtesy of Edmund), and of course little Kokoro for the youngest (Yuki named her the Japanese word for heart because of well... her heart).

"Take this!" Yuki grunts, kicking Peter off her before swing her sword at him.

"You'd have to do better than that, Tanaka!" retorts Peter, spinning around her. With a swift swipe, Peter effortlessly slides behind her.

"Not this time!" returns Yuki, kicking backwards while extending her arm to the front. As if she is dancing, Yuki spins around with her sword and takes advantage of its pure white blade, reflecting sunlight into Peter's eyes.

"That's cheating!" he cries, stumbling. Lucky for him, his blind jab forces Yuki to pull back.

"No, that's playing smart!" defends Yuki, deflecting his blow with her flat side. Finally, Peter quickly kicks her foot, causing her to trip and fall. Taking advantage of her accident, Peter hits the sword out of her hand.

"I win again!" cheers Peter. Smirking, he holds out his hand for her.

"One day," swears Yuki. "One day, I'll beat you, and you better watch out." Despite her threat, she smirks back and takes his hand. Back on her feet, Yuki finds herself getting lost in Peter's blue eyes again as he tilts his head with confusion. 'Wow his eyes are so blue...'

"Is there something on my face?" he asks cutely.

"Can I please stop now?" pants one of the soldiers, snapping Yuki out of her day dreams. The soldier was punished with doing 500 jumps with a jump vine since he walked his laps earlier.

"Yes, you can stop now!" laughs Yuki. Giving Peter one last smile, she walks over to the soldier's side. "I hope you know I didn't do that to punish you." He gives her a look. "Okay fine it was a punishment, but as a soldier, you need good stamina. If you don't, you will tire out more easily on the battlefield, which will then raise your chances of falling and I didn't want that."

"It's okay, I understand," the soldier promises. "I'll work harder and won't slack off anymore!" As he runs back to train with the rest of his team, Edmund's voice can be heard from across the courtyard.

"Peter! Yuki!" calls Edmund, getting the attention of everyone due to his loud voice. "I know not all of you are named Yuki or Peter, so get back to work!" His joke rouses some laughter from the troops, including Yuki, but Peter could only shake his head.

"Where's the fire Edmund?" Yuki asks, jogging over to the two brothers.

"King Lune's arriving in two hours! Susan wants us to dress up and prepare to welcome him!" Edmund pants, obviously tired from the running. His red face added to his poor condition. Poor boy must've ran from the woods just to tell them. "Wow, who knew running from the dining room to the training field can take so much energy?" Nope, never mind... Peter and Yuki look at each other, stifling a laugh.

"You wish to beat me in combat one day and you got tired from running from the dining room to here?" mocks Peter. "Isn't the dining room just two rooms away?"

"I believe you should join my troops in training," adds Yuki as Peter leans on Yuki as if she is a wall. "Your stamina is awful."

"Oh shut it, not all of us are athletic!" pouts Edmund. Then he notices the stance between Yuki and Peter. "My, you two have gotten quite close lately, haven't you?" Blushing, Yuki immediately pushes Peter off and begins walking to her room.

"Susan told us to get ready, so hurry up!" she yells, too scared to look back. Once she enters her room, she begins raiding her closet. "Stupid Edmund! Why did you have to say that?" She scans her closet. Thanks to Susan, her closet had at least one dress of every color. "I wonder what color Peter will wear... Maybe I can predict it and match with him? Oh stupid, don't let a boy decide your clothes! I like blue so I'll choose blue!" She picks out a sky blue dress with a flowing skirt and double sleeves. It is a sunny day, so to avoid tans, she wanted to cover up her arms.

"Yuki, I believe Queen Susan has asked for me to aid you with your hair for today," Asora announces, entering the room. Asora is a pretty old dryad, but extremely motherly and sweet. She often remind Yuki of her own mother, making Asora one of Yuki's favorites of Cair Paravel.

"Oh, Asora! Thank goodness!" Yuki exclaims, rushing the the door. "I have no idea how to fix my hair to greet King Lune."

"Leave that to me," winks Asora, setting Yuki onto a chair and immediately using her dryad powers to set white blossoms in Yuki's hair. Immediately the top layer is curled and cascading down her back, with two locks of hair tied together in the middle using a larger blossom. "How is it?"

"Oh mama you look beautiful!" Kokoro gushes, answering in Yuki's place. The two turn to see four rabbits hopping into Yuki's room.

"Knock, knock," a familiar voice chimes, playfully knocking on Yuki's open door. Peter peeks in and gives them a gentle smile. "Hello, ladies."

"High King Peter! It is extremely rude to enter a lady's room without her permission!" gasps Asora in a teasing manner. "I believe the High King must be punished for trespassing and a lack of etiquette!" She shares an evil smirk with Yuki, who grabs Peter and sits him down.

"No! Forgive me, milady!" jokes Peter.

"It's time to meet your worst nightmare," grins Yuki. "Asora, if you'd please." The three laugh joyously as Asora sends flowers all over Peter, braiding his short/long hair with flowers.

"Papa looks so pretty now!" Carrot teases as Happy rolls around cackling on the ground.

"Yes he does," adds Yuki, resting her face on his shoulder as they look into the mirror and peer upon Princess Peter's beautiful appearance.

"Who says you can be so close to this enchanting face?" Peter demands with a chuckle, poking Yuki's puffed cheeks and pushing her head off his shoulder.

"Am I pretty too, mama?" little Kokoro asks, hopping onto Yuki's vanity.

"The most beautiful rabbit of all," compliments Yuki, placing a kiss on each of her ears.

"And Wit, Carrot, and Happy are very handsome too!" adds Peter, picking the three male rabbits up.

"Oh my Aslan!" gasps a shocked voice. Everyone turns to see Susan staring at them with wide eyes that seem to be popping out of her head. "Peter what have you done?!"

"Relax, Susan, it was just a joke," Peter replies, laughing it off. Asora takes this as a sign to remove the flowers.

"Thank you, Asora," Susan says, calming down. "Come, Oreius says he can see their ship! We must get down there immediately!" She picks up Happy and runs out with him, followed by the other three siblings.

"Well, Lady Yuki, shall we?" asks Peter, offering an arm. Yuki smiles and shyly hooks her arm with his.

"Of course, my king," answers Yuki. The two stare at each other for a second before dropping their arms and racing out the room while screaming for every servant to move out the way before Susan kills them.

* * *

"I made it first!" Peter cheers, tagging Edmund. The force from Peter tilts Edmund forward slightly.

"Hey!" Edmund shouts, nearly losing his balance. Not even a second later, Yuki reaches them and tags Edmund harshly, causing the poor boy to fully lose his posture and fall into the ocean.

"Edmund!" gasps Lucy, getting Oreius to help her pull him in. Driven by the guilty conscience, Yuki gives them a hand.

"What is going on?!" growls Edmund, shivering as Lucy hands him her cape.

"Why were you two playing around? Don't you understand how important it is for us to give King Lune a good impression?!" lectures Susan, pulling at her hair. "Oh things are off to such a horrible start!"

"Well we were racing to see who reaches Edmund first," Peter explains. "And I won!"

"Only because I was wearing high heels!" complains Yuki, holding up her shoes.

"Why did I have to be the finish line?" groans Edmund.

"Yuki! Put those on right this instant!" Susan gasps again. "What would King Lune think if he saw a Guardian running around with the High King without her shoes on?!"

"Your majesties?" Oreius asks, but is ignored.

"Susan, calm down, I can put them on again like this," Yuki laughs. "Don't worry."

"Don't worry?!" both Susan and Edmund exclaim.

"I was pushed into the water!" complains Edmund.

"Everyone please calm down!" pleads Lucy, looking around nervously.

"Yes! Thank you Lucy!" shouts Susan. "Everyone calm down because we will show King Lune that we are dignified monarchs of Narnia who can take care of their duties!"

"Susan, I think he'd understand that we are still children," pleads Yuki, hoping to calm her friend down.

"Your majesties?" whispers Oreius, but is once again ignored.

"She said 'duties'," Edmund whispers to Peter and the two giggle.

"You two are so immature," Yuki says under her breath. However the look on Susan's face was priceless. The beautiful Gentle Queen no longer looked gentle, but like a ferocious werewolf with a red face. Before they knew it, Susan charges at the two, but Yuki is faster. She throws herself in between and holds Susan back as Peter and Edmund hug each other, whimpering in fear. "Susan no!"

"Welcome, King Lune," Lucy and Oreius speak.

"Yes! We must welcome King Lune!" Susan yells. Yuki looks over and that's when she realized what happened. She taps Susan's shoulder.

"No, welcome, King Lune," Yuki says, grinning nervously. Susan turns and once again, her eyes pop out of her head. Edmund is snickering quietly behind them until an embarrassed Peter jabs him. In front of them, not only King Lune, but his whole fleet stand on their ship, staring at them with amusement or whispering.

"Oh my! Welcome! Welcome King Lune!" Susan greets. "And friends from Archenland..." Yuki scans the faces on the ship and feels herself shrinking back with embarrassment. What if this scene causes Archenland to look down on Narnia?

"Delighted to be here!" booms King Lune, laughing warmly. "Please, do not put up a front. If we are to be friends, we must show our true selves to each other."

"I apologize deeply for that, King Lune," Lucy says with worry as King Lune and his followers walk down to their harbor. Behind him were dukes, knights, and guards, and as expected some of the dukes brought along their daughters. She was however, surprised to see sons of some there too. Besides the daughters and maids, there were no other women on the ship, so Yuki assumes that the women were left to take care of their homes.

"Pardon me if I am wrong, sire, but does Archenland not reside just over the mountains?" asks Peter politely. "Why have you come on ships?" Yuki was impressed. Just a moment ago they were like children, racing across the fields, and now Peter is speaking with poise in a kingly manner.

"We made a few stops along the islands on the way here," King Lune answers. He looks over at Susan with an amused twinkle. "Is this the beautiful Gentle Queen Susan I've heard so many rumors about?"

"Oh King Lune, I'm so sorry if you saw any of that horrendous family squabble!" she apologizes, completely flustered.

"On the contrary, it was quite refreshing," he muses. "It's been long since I've seen such a comfortable royal family. Not to mention, the fire in you is quite entertaining." He turns to each of the five and greets them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, your majesty," says Lucy, doing a curtsy.

"And I, you, my queen," returns King Lune, bowing respectfully. "King Edmund, High King Peter, it is my pleasure."

"The pleasure is ours," Peter returns as both bow back.

"And who might this lovely lady be?" he asks, kissing Yuki's hand.

"This is the Guardian of Narnia," answers Peter, stepping up to her side and placing a hand on her lower back.

"Is she your betrothed?" questions King Lune, causing both Peter and Yuki to grow red as Edmund snickers next to Lucy.

"No!" Yuki, Peter, and Susan answer quickly, Peter and Yuki out of embarrassment, and Susan out of who knows what.

"Excellent, it would be a shame if High King Peter already had a special lady by his side," one of the nobles spoke, "considering we brought along our daughters to meet you."

"But we would be happy if you are already happy," adds King Lune, glaring at the noble. At this point, Edmund pulls Yuki back so Peter cannot hear.

"This might be harder than I thought," he whispers to Yuki. "You have a lot of competition."

"Edmund!" hisses Yuki, blushing. "Why would you mention such a thing?" Rolling his eyes, Edmund ignores the glare Yuki is sending him.

"Father! Are we in Narnia yet?" a voice asks, and that's when Yuki remembers that King Lune was bringing his son Prince Corin along.

"Is that your son?" asks Peter.

"Yes, your highness-" King Lune speaks but is interrupted by Lucy.

"Please, just call us by our names," Lucy requests. "If we are to be friends, titles should be thrown away."

"Would that really be alright?" asks King Lune.

"Of course, like Lucy says, we should forget titles if we are friends," Peter agrees.

"Then in that case, my _friends_," King Lune says, emphasizing the word, "this is my beloved son, Prince Corin." He tugs the hand of a little boy around Lucy's age and leads him to stand in front of the Pevensies and Yuki.

"It is nice to meet you," he says, bowing a bit.

"He's precious," sighs Yuki, looking at him.

"Oh boy! New friend!" cheers Happy from behind Susan. Yuki mentally slaps herself, scolding herself for forgetting about her four 'children'. Corin seemed to be shocked at the talking rabbits, but begins petting them once he gets used to it.

"These are Wit, Happy, Carrot, and Kokoro," introduces Lucy. "They have been adopted by Peter and Yuki."

"Please, your majesties, let us bring King Lune and his good people back to Cair Paravel," Oreius offers, gesturing for Aslan's Shield and Edmund's army to make a path.

"Oh my, where are our manners?" Susan groans. "Please King Lune, why don't we return to Cair Paravel? We have a celebration planned for you tomorrow and it would be best if you replenish your energy."

"Splendid! Lead the way!" King Lune states and gets on a horse prepared for him.

"Yuki!" Peter calls. "I need you!" Although it was simply to ask her a favor, Yuki loved it. She loved hearing him tell her that he needed her.

"Yes? What is it, Peter?" she asks sweetly, walking to him. The immature Carrot snickers at Yuki's change in tone, but gets thumped in the face by Wit's big foot.

"Susan and I will be escorting King Lune back to Cair Paravel, so we would not be able to give a tour to the other guests besides the greetings just yet," states Peter. He offers his hand, which Yuki takes shyly. Peter leads her slowly to the crowd of nobles and knights. "Edmund!" Immediately the little brother runs to him. "Can I trust you two to escort the rest of our honorable guests back and show them to their rooms?"

"Oh course dear brother," Edmund says, giving a cheeky grin before introducing himself to the dukes and lords in King Lune's group. As Yuki turns to greet the young girls, Peter stops her.

"And please keep an eye on Edmund to make sure he doesn't do something stupid," pleads Peter in a hushed voice. Yuki quirks an eyebrow. "Stupid_er _than usual."

"Yes my king," teases Yuki. Peter returns to Susan and King Lune, allowing Yuki a few seconds to mentally squeal. _He held my hand again!_

"Get this dirty hare off me!" shrieks one of the girls. Gasping, Yuki runs and manages to catch Kokoro right as one of the girls kick her.

"Cassandra! How could you do that to such a sweet thing?!" gasps one of the other girls. She and the other three rabbits rush to Yuki, who is currently cradling the little one. Edmund angrily stalks to this Cassandra and speaks to her with malice.

"The rabbit you just kicked is one of my brother's loved ones," he speaks coldly. "We see them as family. Because you are our guests, I will let you off with a warning, but here in Narnia, everyone is equal. For your sake I hope I never see you treating anyone like that ever again." Fear reflects in her eyes before Edmund walks to the small group. "How is she?"

"Why I oughta..." threatens Wit, getting ready to pounce on the girl.

"Let me atta her! Let me at her! Let me at her!" growls Carrot, only to be held back by a chuckling Edmund.

"I'm okay," whimpers Kokoro, cowering closer into Yuki's arms.

"Edmund, you should get going first. I'll lead the girls back right after," Yuki promises. Although he was uncertain, Edmund nods and begins leading the men away.

"I'm sorry about Lady Cassandra," apologizes the girl that ran to Kokoro's aid. "She's actually quite... tolerable...once you get past her rough exterior."

"Thank you for your help," smiles Yuki.

"If I may, it would be my honor to take care of her while you attend to your duties as Guardian," offers the girl.

"Oh thank you, that would be lovely," gushes Yuki, gently transferring Kokoro to her. "Please, everyone board a carriage and we will be on our way to Cair Paravel." Yuki helps Wit, Happy, and Carrot onto a carriage. Of course the girl and Yuki board the same one. The other 5 girls boarded another carriage. As for the maids, they board the third carriage.

"I'm sorry for being so rude, but I never once introduced myself," apologizes the girl holding Kokoro. "My name is Annabelle. I am the daughter of the Duke of Elfir."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, I am Guardian Yuki," she says, bowing slightly. She then turns to the other carriages. "My ladies, what are your names? It will be quiet a journey to Cair Paravel, so why not take this chance to get to know each other?"

"As you heard before, I'm Lady Cassandra," she huffs. "My father is the wealthiest lord in Archenland. And of course, that makes me the wealthiest daughter in our land, as well as the most beautiful." Cassandra ends her introduction with an exaggerated pose of her upper body.

"I want to bite her," hisses Happy, causing Yuki and Annabelle to giggle quietly.

"I am Leona, Archenland's best seamstress," Leona brags. "Of course, my father is a duke, so I'm not like those ordinary seamstresses."

"I am Fiora."

"My name is Lily, but you may call my Lady Lily, subordinate."

"And I am the beautiful Lady Rose."

"It is very nice to meet you all," Yuki lies, although this Annabelle does not seem so bad. Hopefully first impressions are wrong in this case.


	5. How Close We Are

On the carriage, Yuki takes all 6 girls into observation. Cassandra fit Yuki's first impression of her quite nicely. She is the stereotypical princess (Not literally, she met princesses before who were actually pretty down to Earth) that was spoiled since birth, cared only about wealth and outer appearances, and treated those below her quite rudely. Yuki noticed this when Cassandra screeched at a nearby faun for adoring her beauty. Even her clothes screamed her wealth for her hair was adorned with diamond gems and jewels were all over her gown. Unfortunately, Yuki could see why Cassandra is so confident in her looks. She had beautiful blonde hair that was naturally curled perfectly down her back. Sure she had some make up on, but she didn't cake her face with it, and Yuki could tell she would be quite beautiful on the outside even if she didn't wear make up. In addition to that, Cassandra's outfit showed off her curves quite nicely, but not in a dirty way where everything can be seen.

Leona, on the other hand, had straight brown locks braided in a high hair style. While she had a pretty face, she always wore a scowl. She seemed to take joy in embarrassing poor Annabelle, like mentioning how poor her family is compared to them despite her father being a duke. Unlike Cassandra, her red gown hugged her curves and showed off much cleavage and the nape of her neck. Her exquisite high cheek bones made her seem even more beautiful every time she smiled. Too bad those smiles came out when she was making Annabelle miserable. Her hands are also the most beautiful Yuki has ever seen, making Yuki feel quite insecure about herself. Fighting with the armies gave her muscles and toned her, but she did not look like a princess at all.

Lady Fiora had her black hair in a simple yet pretty braid adorned with emeralds to match her green dress. Yuki noted that this lady cared much about her skin, for she would continuously complain about her the sun would darken her skin or attempt to block the sunlight with her lace fan. Her attitude toward the horse pulling the carriage was absolutely atrocious. The rabbits had to hold Yuki back from shouting at her. Ace, the horse, however, was quite amused by Fiora's complaints and often tried to scare her as revenge.

Lady Lily had very light blonde hair, almost white. Her big blue eyes gave her the look of an innocent girl, and Yuki hoped she is. Unfortunately she gave off the same attitude the previous ladies had, ignoring Yuki every time she spoke to her. At least this one was quiet and not as annoying as the others.

Lady Rose obviously took her name quite literal, for everything about her was pink. Her brown hair was done to resemble a rose, which had an actual rose in the middle. Pink rose, pink cheeks, pink dress, pink gloves, pink shoes, and even pink jewels. If she could, Yuki was sure Lady Rose would make her hair pink too. While all the ladies seem interested in Peter and Edmund, Lady Rose seems most flirtatious in the group. Yuki felt extremely uncomfortable hearing her talk about how she will later 'seduce' High King Peter into marrying her. The other girls in her carriage immediately protested, but Yuki felt no threat for she knew Peter would never glance twice at a lady with no self respect. Then again, he is in that hormonal stage, so maybe he would spare her glances, but he would never marry her.

Finally Lady Anabelle, the complete opposite of everyone else. She had beautiful golden hair and naturally pink lips and probably the bluest eyes Yuki has ever seen. She couldn't help but feel inferior sitting next to such a beautiful girl. Anabelle's personality is very lovable, and Yuki could see the rabbits warming up to her motherly touch. Anabelle was petite, but had legs that seem like they could go on for miles. Her sweet voice calmed Kokoro and Carrot very well. The only 'flaw' she has is that her family lost their wealth recently, but that didn't matter at all to Yuki. If Anabelle is here for Peter though, Yuki fears that she would absolutely lose to this new girl.

"So, Guardian, can you tell us about the kings and queens?" asks Lily.

"Meaning, tell us about High King Peter and King Edmund," translates Rose.

"Well, Peter is-" Yuki starts but is quickly cut off by Cassandra.

"How dare you talk to him in such a casual way!" she accuses.

"Actually, we are friends and he allows his subjects to address him as such," Yuki returns with just as much poison in her tone. "Of course, you're still required to call him High King Peter because as I said, friends are allowed to call him so. And last I checked, you are just a girl who is coming for a visit." Her own attitude shocked even her. Since when did she speak so disrespectfully to anyone? Worried for Narnia's reputation, she quickly apologizes. "I'm sorry, Lady Cassandra. Please pardon my outburst."

"Hmph, of course, peasant," Cassandra groans. "Continue." She turns to whisper to Leona. "The help nowadays never know their manners."

"As I was saying, Peter is extremely caring and loyal to Narnia and her creatures," starts Yuki, ignoring her. "He loves everyone, which is why he adopted these darlings when we saved them. At the moment he is the best swordsman in Narnia, but his brother is quickly catching up. Edmund is more of a prankster, the reason we all laugh at the end of the day."

"I heard King Edmund betrayed Narnia," Fiora states bluntly, causing Yuki to grip her sword. Noticing this, Wit jumps onto Yuki's lap and calms her down. "Is this true?"

"Lady Fiora!" gasps Anabelle. Yuki gives her a look of assurance.

"It is in the past, and we do not speak of it," Yuki replies calmly. "King Edmund has grown up from the boy he once was. Now he is king and his loyalty for Aslan and Narnia is strong."

"Guardian, do you know if the kings have their eyes on any ladies yet?" Lady Leona asks, a glint of excitement in her eyes. "They're both so handsome! I'm sure I'll be able to snatch at least one of them. But do they have someone?" Yuki feels her heart tightening at the question, but must contain her feelings. Besides, she has no right to Peter.

"Not that I know of, no," she answers calmly. The answer sends the carriage with the spoiled girls into abrupt gossip and giggles.

"So High King Peter is available?" gasps Anabelle, smiling brightly. Nodding, Yuki forces her heart to remain calm. Of course if Anabelle is attempting to woo Peter, Yuki may as well give up now.

"But papa will marry mama so don't get your hopes up!" shouts Happy. Seeing the expressions on the girls, Wit, Kokoro, and Carrot burst out laughing as Yuki groans and covers her face to hide herself from the glares. Happy looks at them with a smug face.

This is going to be a long ride...

* * *

"Here we are," Yuki smiles, gesturing to the grand entrance. "Welcome to Castle Cair Paravel."

"Welcome, ladies," greets Edmund, helping each off their carriages. Peter approaches Yuki's carriage.

"I'm glad you made it back safely," chuckles Peter, holding Yuki's hand as she gets off.

"Thank you, my king," she jokes.

"Papa!" Wit shouts, hopping into Peter's arms. One by one, the bunnies jump off the carriage with Yuki's help, all except Kokoro, who stay snuggled in Anabelle's arms. It was then that Peter noticed the angel sitting with Kokoro.

"My lady, may I say your beauty graces us all today," Peter says breathlessly, causing Yuki growl silently. Of course he'd be smitten with her. Anabelle blushes and takes his hand. "I am Peter, and what is the name of the lady who has accompanied our guardian?"

"I am Lady Anabelle, King Peter," she says shyly.

"Please, just Peter will do," he replies sweetly.

"He's looking at her weird," Kokoro says, jumping to her brothers.

"Yeah, papa's never looked at mama like that," Happy whispers back. Hearing those words and seeing how Peter looked at Anabelle completely killed Yuki's hopes of ever confessing to him. It was too late now. Sure, they are not courting and they have just met, but Peter won't spare her a single glance now that he's seen beautiful Anabelle.

"High King Peter, is it true that you and Lady Yuki will court in the future?" asks Lady Fiora, interrupting the moment. For once Yuki is glad someone asked about her and Peter.

"Goodness, no!" Peter denies quickly, breaking Yuki's heart a bit. "We simply adopted these baby rabbits, so they are used to calling us their parents, but Yuki and I will not be marrying." That was enough for one day. Yuki quietly apologizes and asks for leave, stomping off.

"Yuki, are you okay?" Edmund whispers to her, following her.

"Yes, I'm fine Edmund," she sighs.

"No you're not, I know you're hurting from what Peter said," he states, grabbing her shoulders to stop her. "Just give it time, he's still figuring out his feelings."

"Edmund, did you see how he was looking at Anabelle?" Yuki exclaims. "He looked at her like she is an angel from heaven! I'm sure he's gotten his feelings figured out for her!"

"Well she is beautiful," Edmund sighs dreamily, going up to the clouds. Rolling her eyes, Yuki smacks his arm. "Ow! I mean sure she is pretty, but I'm sure she's just some pretty little airhead that knows nothing. Don't fret, Yuki, Peter will get over her looks soon." He links his arm with her and begins dragging her away.

"Where are you taking me?" gasps Yuki, trying to keep up.

"To take out your stress," Edmund simply answers.

* * *

For once, Yuki is grateful about taking Edmund's advice. All the anger that she accumulated from earlier has now gone with the wind as she and Edmund spar.

"I win!" Edmund cheers smugly, holding the tip of his blade at her neck. Despite losing, she really enjoyed herself.

"I can't believe I lost to both you and Peter," she whines, accepting Edmund's hand to pull her up. "Thanks, that really helped clear my head."

"By the way, how has your experience with the wand been?" asks Edmund, nodding to the protruding ice wand in Yuki's bag.

"Not too well, it's been weeks, but still the most I can do with it is make ice walls," she sighs. "I wish I knew how to control my magic better."

"That may be because you have no magic," a new voice interrupts them, causing Yuki and Edmund to jump into a fighting stance, pointing swords at the new character. "Pardon me for overhearing, but you are rather loud." The two stiffen as a figure walks out from behind the tree. As he approaches, Yuki notes that he is around Peter's age. And by the look of his red robes and wand, she guesses him to be a sorcerer. He seems rather cute, with his brown hair, chocolate brown eyes, and slightly tanned skin. His stature was not one to be underestimated either. He may be a sorcerer, but he was as fit as a knight. But the smug smirk on his face causes any trace of attractiveness to disappear.

"And who might you be?" Edmund asks cautiously, inching forward to hide Yuki when he sees him smiling at her.

"Apologies, King Edmund," the boy answers, holding his hands up in surrender. "I mean no harm, I am but a humble sorcerer from Archenland here visiting with King Lune."

"I didn't realize Archenland has any magic wielders," Yuki comments, still wearily of this suspicious boy. "You seem to know us, but we do not know you. What is your name?"

"My name is Colin, it is a pleasure to meet you, King Edmund," he greets, shaking hands with a now more comfortable Edmund. However Yuki continues glaring as she puts her sword away. "And the beautiful Guardian of Narnia." The only one people rumored as beautiful has always been Susan. So why? Yuki feels heat rushing to her cheeks as Colin plants a soft kiss on her hand. "You see, magic wielders are indeed rare in Archenland, but we do exist."

"I apologize for our hostility," Edmund says, warming up to him. "We thought you were a spy."

"I do not blame you," replies Colin. "I heard about the White Witch's followers, so I understand."

"About before, what did you mean when you said I have no magic?" asks Yuki, bringing the topic back.

"Ah right," he remembers. "You see, you may be one of the rightful holders of the ice wand, but you actually have no magic. Pardon my bluntness, but in magical terms, you are an ordinary girl. The magic belongs to the wand, so it is not a matter of controlling your 'powers', but the powers of the wand."

"That does make sense," Edmund comments. "We came from a world of no magic, so it would be abnormal if Yuki had some."

"You're a sorcerer, would you be able to help me learn how?" asks Yuki. However she immediately regrets asking because Colin regains his smirk again.

"With such a pretty lady requesting for me, how can I refuse?" he flirts. Yuki had to admit though, if she didn't fancy Peter so much she would probably fall for this boy. "Of course I will be your _personal_ mentor." Yuki feels butterflies taking over as she stands under his gaze. The tone he used when he said "personal" only made it worse.

"Thank you, and please understand I want us to only have a student/teacher relationship," she warns. He chuckles smugly, making Yuki wish she can wipe it off his face.

"Anything the lady says," he replies. "Now, I must attend to my father, I hope we meet again later." He bows to Yuki and Edmund before leaving.

"I like him," Edmund chirps. "And I know for sure he likes you." This causes Yuki to throw him a glare, only for Edmund to burst out laughing.

"Well I like Peter, and even if I didn't, that boy is too smug for his own good," she growls, pouting.

"Come, it is getting rather late," Edmund reminds her. "We best go change for Susan's ball tonight or the Gentle Queen will... not be so gentle."

* * *

"Wear this one, mama!" squeals Happy, hopping on a white gown that had a curtain-like skirt. Laughing, Yuki picks it up and puts it behind her changing wall.

"Out! Out!" shoos Kokoro, pushing the male rabbits out for Yuki to change. "I'll help you mama!"

"Thank you, I wonder what would I do without such an adorable daughter like you," laughs Yuki. As Yuki drops her current dress, Kokoro pulls it out from underneath Yuki's feet so she can replace it with the white gown. The dress is gorgeous, but if Yuki had anything to complain about, it would be the neckline. It completely reveals her collarbones and upper back, making her feel so vulnerable.

"You look beautiful mama," Kokoro cries, hopping into her arms.

"Let's let your brothers back in," Yuki offers, opening the door. However as she opens it, she meets the pair of beautiful blue eyes she fancied for the past weeks. He walks into her room, wearing his typical blue and gold king attire. No matter how many times she's seen him in it, he still looks as handsome in it as the first day he wore it for coronation. "Peter! What a surprise!"

"What? Don't I always pick you up from your room on the way to the ballroom?" he teases.

"Oh no, I just thought you would be attending to the guests," Yuki replies, embarrassed."I see you were quite attracted to Lady Anabelle." A frown makes its way onto her face as she asks.

"Is the guardian jealous?" Peter teases, hints of smugness filling his voice.

"No!" Yuki denies a little quickly, but Peter pays no attention to it.

"I admit she and Lady Cassandra are rather beautiful, but Lady Cassandra is quite a handful," Peter groans. "Lady Anabelle, well she seems like quite a nice girl so far, but I really have no interest in courting anyone at the moment." Hearing Peter say that brings a giddy smile to her face, but she resists the urge. Instead, she clears her throat and changes the topic.

"Have you seen Asora? I need her for my hair," Yuki asks.

"Actually, she was told to help Lucy and Susan for tonight," apologizes Peter. "If you trust me enough, why don't I do your hair?" Carrot and Happy begin laughing as Yuki's eyes widen in fear.

"Papa, you are many things, but I doubt you can do that," Wit teases.

"Boys are so mean!" puffs Kokoro, thumping all of them. "I can help you!"

"See? I will have Kokoro's help!" Peter adds. "Come on, don't you trust me?" Seeing the puppy dog face on Peter renders Yuki weak. How can she say no to the boy she likes so much? Especially when he looks at her like that?

"Fine, but if it gets bad, I will do it myself," she threatens. Grinning like a madman, Peter dives for the brush and begins brushing Yuki's hair. At first she remains stiff, worried. He's a knight of Narnia, he is not exactly wise in this field. However as a few seconds pass, Yuki relaxes her body. It can't be that bad right? 'It is actually quite relaxing...' "OW!"

"HAHAHAHAHA!" the boy rabbits fall off the bed laughing. Kokoro lets out a groan as Peter pulls the brush back to find a small knot of Yuki's hair on the brush, completely ripped from her head.

"You're brushing too hard!" she yells at him.

"It's not my fault you don't brush your hair properly!" counters Peter, laughing.

"How can you be laughing at me right now?!" whines Yuki, combing her hair with her fingers. "See? There are no knots in my hair!"

"Then explain this," retorts Peter, holding the brush to her face.

"Just let me brush it and you can style it after," she compromises, sighing. Peter and the boys continue laughing on her bed as Yuki and Kokoro help fix her hair. The two finally finish and Yuki hands the brush back to Peter. "Please, be a little gentler this time."

"Don't worry," Peter chuckles. Yuki sits back, staring at Peter's reflection in the mirror. Just something about Peter's concentration set loose butterflies in her, especially since his concentration is on her. Well, her hair, but it's still her. Tingles go through her body every time Peter's fingertips brush against her scalp or neck, but she forces herself to sit still. "Finished." Finally! Yuki lets out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. She has no idea how much longer she could handle Peter touching her hair, so thank goodness.

Yuki turns to the right a bit, realizing that Peter did a waterfall braid on her hair. Kokoro had helped him by adorning her hair with the crystal droplets, creating a sparkle in her hair.

"I have to admit, I'm impressed," Yuki confesses. "You did a nice job." Her shoulders stiffen again when Peter hugs her from behind and leans his chin on the area between her shoulder and neck. Due to the exposure of the dress, Yuki could feel his skin on hers. In a matter of seconds, Yuki's face heats up and she could feel her ears turning red. She prays to Aslan that Peter doesn't feel the heat radiating off her body.

"I hope you didn't mind, but I prefer you dress up in simple things," Peter confesses back. "I don't think you need much to look pretty." Her breath gets caught in her throat as Peter's words make their way to her ears. Did he just call her pretty? Oh by Aslan's mane, he did just call her pretty! Unable to look at him directly in the eyes, Yuki can only stare at their reflections together. They are so close that Yuki can feel the heat from his body. Oh no, if she could feel his when he's not nervous, doesn't that mean he can feel her heat?! What if he's as nervous as she is too and is just good at hiding it? That's impossible, he doesn't seem to like her, why would he be nervous?

"Mama you look so pretty!" Kokoro compliments.

"Thank you," she laughs, hugging her.

"Mama is pretty and papa is handsome!" states Carrot.

"And we are a beautiful family," Peter concludes, turning to her. Yuki mirrors his actions but freezes completely, still shocked from their closeness. A family... Them? That does sound pretty nice right now. "I say it is time this beautiful family graces the visitors of Archenland. Shall we, love?" A blush makes its way upon Yuki's face at the name.

"AWWW!" Kokoro squeals. Wit joins her by leaning on her head.

"Ew!" gags Carrot.

"Yeah! Ew! Don't be lovey-dovey in front of us!" adds Happy, but the two are immediately thumped by Wit and Kokoro.

"W-what did you just call me?" she asks, shocked. Her expression causes Peter to begin stuttering.

"Oh! I-if you don't like it, I-I can not call you that," he nervously says, worried that she might avoid him.

'If he's calling me love, maybe I have a chance after all,' thinks Yuki happily. She turns to him smiling. "No it's fine, you just startled me." Her permission brings a grin to his face. "I like it, it shows how close we are."

"Then, let this night be one to remember, _love_," teases Peter. Yuki continues sitting there as Peter picks up Wit and Happy while attempting to hold Carrot. Seeing him with the rabbits made her agree with him, they _are_ a beautiful family. Maybe one day they can be a real family. "Yuki? I need you..."

"Yes Peter?" she asks, snapping out of her trance.

"Can you bring Wit and Kokoro? I can't hold three rabbits," he groans. Laughing, Yuki picks Wit off Peter's head and scoops up Kokoro into her arms.

"Is that better, my king?" she asks, teasing him.

"Much," Peter sighs gratefully. "Come, we should go before Susan sends a search party for us." Laughing the two exit Yuki's room together and begin walking toward the ballroom.


	6. The Ball

"Please welcome, High King Peter and Yuki, the Guardian of Narnia!" announces the herald. Claps are heard throughout the room as Yuki and Peter enter. Peter quietly clears his throat and gestures at the announcing faun, who lets out a startled "Ooh! And welcome the royal rabbits, Wit, Happy, Carrot, and Kokoro!" Letting out a giggle, Yuki lets Kokoro and Carrot down to have some fun. Peter does the same and the four bunnies dash straight for Edmund at the food, knocking him over.

"How they attack Edmund never gets old," giggles Yuki as Peter chuckles, agreeing.

"Yuki, you look absolutely lovely!" Lucy compliments, hugging her with Susan following behind.

"And so do you two!" Yuki returns.

"I shall check on Edmund," Peter informs them. "I expect a dance with each of you later tonight."

"Good bye, Peter!" the three laugh in unison before Yuki boots him away from their group. The three girls seem to have their own colors in the trio. Yuki is often in white or blue(The girls forced this color upon her to match Peter), Susan is often in green or purple, and Lucy is usually in red. Tonight, Lucy has on her red, double-sleeve dress with gold trimmings on them. And Susan's dress has three tones of green, altering every time her skirt has a new layer. Of course Lucy looked adorable and Susan is the bell of the ball. beautiful Gentle Queen Susan catches the eye of every male once again. Usually Yuki stayed close to her to make sure no one would kidnap Susan during these events, requested by Peter.

"So, how have you taken to the guests?" asks Yuki. "What do you think of them?"

"Well all of the girls seemed monstrous!" complains Lucy, making a face. "All they did was complain about the servants and how in Archenland they would be punished..." Yuki nods, knowing exactly who Lucy is probably talking about.

"Actually, one of them is quite pleasant," Susan defends. "I think her name was Anabella?"

"Anabelle," corrects Yuki, remembering the beautiful lady from before. "And I remember her, she was the only one during the carriage ride that I did not have a row with."

"Oh there she is!" Lucy points out. Yuki looks to see Anabelle sitting alone and observing others. "She looks quite lonely, we should go talk to her!"

"It would be nice to become friends with her," Susan agrees, and no doubt Yuki agrees too. The three walk over to her, giggling at how sweet she seems. Anabelle finally notices the three approaching her and stands up to curtsy.

"Oh your highnesses!" she greets, completely nervous.

"Anabelle, please forget the formalities," Susan pleads. "We are trying to become friends."

"Oh I'm sorry," she apologizes, looking down.

"And friends don't need to apologize to each other," Yuki jokes. Anabelle smiles sadly at her.

"You look beautiful tonight," Lucy says to her, but then frowns. "I mean, I'm not saying you don't normally look beautiful, because you do and I-I..." Lucy lets out a loud sigh, causing the older girls to laugh. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you, your majesty, and you as well," Anabelle returns, scanning all three of them.

"Please, just call us by our names," Lucy requests, and Anabelle nods.

"Lucy, will you grace me with a dance?" Peter asks, interrupting the girls. Giggling, the girls wave to Lucy as Peter leads her away to the dance floor.

"Your King Peter is quite handsome," Anabelle whispers, blushing.

"Well the Narnian court wishes for him to be married in a few years," Susan tells her. "Maybe you should try to be that lucky someone. Logically, Peter would want a lovely lady such as yourself." Yuki's heart tightens at that statement. Anabelle is so much more beautiful than her. If she ever so bats an eye at Peter, he would fall for her. But what about her moment with Peter earlier? It had to have meant something right?

"Hello, ladies, how are you doing this fine night?" asks Edmund, entering the group. Noting Yuki's pained expression, he sends her a look asking 'Are you okay?' She nods subtly at him before faking a smile.

"It was fine until you got here," Yuki jokes, causing Susan and Anabelle to laugh while Edmund mocks a hurt look. "We are just talking."

"Yes, and Anabelle is just mentioning how handsome our brother is," adds Susan, teasing the girl more. Despite knowing who she means, Edmund decides to play the joke, hoping it would lighten the mood for Yuki.

"Why I think you are quite beautiful yourself," Edmund says, bowing to her. However Anabelle stands there, stiff and stunned about what to do. "I am simply teasing my lady, I know you mean my brother. You see, I now know two girls who fancy him." He glances at Yuki a bit, only to receive a glare from her. Susan, feeling awkward, decides to leave the group to mingle with other guests.

"Really? And who might that be?" asks Anabelle, interested in the subject.

"Edmund!" Yuki hisses, trying to shut him up.

"Oh just someone that I know he likes back," he says. "Or will like back." For now, Edmund's statements are what he calls nice warnings, with no punch in them yet.

"Ed!" Yuki tries again, but fails miserably when he places a hand on her shoulder, signalling her to let him continue.

"Well if he is not courting anyone, then it is completely fine for me to try to win his heart, right?" she challenges, and Yuki looks at her shocked. The shy girl from before is now gone and in her place is someone completely confident and authoritative.

"Maybe, but if he has his eyes on someone, I suggest you back off and let fate play things out," Edmund calmly states back. Yuki swears she can see lightening exchanged between their eyes. Luckily Peter calls her before things get worse.

"Yuki, I need you," Peter calls to her. "It's time for our dance." Letting out a sigh of relief, Yuki flees from the two before they can throw any more fire at each other. "Whoa! What's gotten you riled up?" As she nears, Peter spins her to him as they begin dancing.

"Edmund and Anabelle were talking about you," groans Yuki. "Thank you for calling me out, you really saved me from an awkward conversation."

"You're very welcome. But this Anabelle...Is she the one from this morning?" asks Peter, glancing at her. "She's quite beautiful." A fire ignites in her chest as Peter tries to look at her, but Yuki pushes it to the back of her mind.

"Yes, her," she grumbles, looking to the side.

"Are you jealous, love?" Peter asks, a smirk making its way onto his face. Blushing, she frantically shakes her head.

"No of course not!" Yuki denies forcefully. Peter just chuckles at her.

"Then why are your cheeks puffed up?" he asks, poking the air out of them.

"No reason!" growls Yuki, turning her head away.

"Well don't worry, because," Peter spins her around again, "you," twirl, "are" swings back "also" pull back together beautiful", Peter takes this moment to leave a kiss on her hand, "love." The two stare into each others' eyes for a few seconds before both of them blush and look away.

'Edmund says one of my good points is that I challenge him, maybe a competition will break the ice,' thinks Yuki, "Well, have you been attending dancing lessons lately?" Peter quirks an eyebrow at her.

"Why? What do you have in mind?" he asks, smirking.

"Let's try that fast version of the Narnian waltz," Yuki suggests. "Unless, the high king is too scared to dance it. " Yuki makes a mocking expression, but bursts into laughter when Peter signals to the orchestra to play their faster songs and twirls her.

"So how do we do this?" asks Peter, moving behind her.

"Until one of us messes up," replies Yuki, setting the rules. "We both dance, no sabotaging the other and no distractions."

"What do you say we make this more interesting?" Peter asks. "If I win, you have to accompany me on my tour with King Lune and his men tomorrow evening."

"And if I win, you owe me a morning of horse riding tomorrow," bets Yuki. Peter nods, agreeing to her terms. At his nod, the two dance even faster. They twirl their way around the other dancers on the floor. As they dance, Yuki can hear Lady Cassandra and the others gossiping.

"Who does she think she is?"

"Really! How dare she dance with the High King more than once? Even the queens only got one dance with him!"

"That wench better move so I can dance with him next!"

"Well let her dance with him, the High King is probably only pitying her. He may be dancing with that girl a lot, but wait until he dances with a woman." No doubt that last comment had to come from Cassandra. However the next thing Lady Fiora says causing Yuki to nearly lose it.

"Don't you think King Peter's cerulean eyes are just to die for?"

'His eyes are blue!' Yuki bellows mentally. How can you mistake Peter's eyes?! They're the most beautiful things ever! If these girls fancy Peter so much, how can they mix up his eye color completely?! Yuki is so involved in her mental argument that she does not even hear Peter talking to her. In fact, she is surprised that mental scream fest didn't cause her to make a mistake in their dance.

"Yuki!" Peter calls again, worried for her, pulling her to the side.

"What?" gasps Yuki, snapping out of it. "Sorry, did you say something?"

"If it's what those girls said about you, love, don't worry," assures Peter, smiling kindly at her. "They are just jealous that I show them no more than a simple glance." Yuki lets out another sigh of relief. Thank goodness he didn't know why she was truly mad. Then again, why did she get so offended about Fiora's comment rather than their insults?

'How do I even know Peter's eye colors? Of course it's easy to tell they are blue, but how did I know they aren't cerulean?' she wonders. 'Maybe I've been paying more attention to Peter than I thought.' Then she realizes Peter is still waiting for her to reply. "Oh! No, don't worry, thank you Peter."

"Pray to Aslan I never have to dance with any of those disturbing girls," Peter mutters under his breath, causing Yuki to giggle.

"Well, I hope you're at least in the mood for horse riding," Yuki points out. "Because you stopped our dance, so you lost." She grins at him, causing him to roll his eyes but return a smile nonetheless.

"Excuse me, King Peter, I hope I am not disturbing," King Lune interrupts, nearing them. From behind him, Yuki can see Corin and a familiar figure trailing behind.

"Colin!" Yuki gasps, pointing at him in surprise. "You really are one of the visitors." If one thought he looked handsome earlier, Colin is drop dead gorgeous now. Seeing him in a formal attire for the ball made him look like one of the typical prince girls would wish for. Yuki hated to admit it, but Colin may even look better than Peter.

"Yes I am," Colin chuckles, smirking slightly at her. "It's a pleasure, High King Peter, and my beautiful Lady Yuki." He bows slightly and Yuki feels something tightening on her hand. Looking down, she sees Peter's hand firmly gripping her hand, intertwining their fingers, causing her to send him a confused glance.

"Good evening, King Lune, Prince Corin, and Colin," Yuki greets. Peter bows respectfully at King Lune and his son, but forces a grin when bowing to Colin. Said boy then attempts to hide a smirk when Peter possessively snakes his arm around Yuki's waist. Instead of suspecting anything, Yuki can only blush when she feels Peter's arm pulling her in closer.

"I'm sorry, have you two met?" asks Peter, trying to remain calm. Unfortunately for him, a strange tone made its way into his voice.

"Yes, Edmund and I met him earlier this afternoon when we were sparring," Yuki introduces.

"Ah yes, you see, I heard about Guardian Yuki receiving the wand of the White Witch," starts King Lune. "And I believe Narnia does not have many with expertise on magic. Archenland does not either, but one of my noble men gave birth to a son with extraordinary magic, Colin." He pauses to glance at Colin, looking at him with pride as if Colin is his own son. "I took him along my trip to Narnia because I believe he will be of great help to the Guardian in controlling the wand and its powers."

"Then we have already completed half of that," Colin announces to him. "You see, Lady Yuki has already asked me to be her teacher." At this, Peter sends Yuki a startled look. "And being a man who cannot turn down a request from such a lovely lady, I have also already agreed."

"That's perfect then!" King Lune booms, letting out a joyful roar of laughter. He claps Yuki on the back, separating her from Peter and into Colin, shocking all three of the teenagers and for Yuki to blush madly. "Well King Peter, do you not think these two make a beautiful couple?" Corin shakes his head as his oblivious father continues causing the High King to fume while Yuki could do nothing but stand there. Colin on the other hand, was quite amused by the reactions of the Narnian humans and pushes Peter by placing a kiss on Yuki's hand.

"To have such a strong fighter as my wife would be an honor," he says, peering into Yuki's eyes. Scared out of her wits, Yuki shoots a pleading glance at Peter, unsure of what he would say.

"If you'd like, I can introduce you to many other female centaurs of my army," Peter hisses through clenched teeth and a fake smile. Colin smirks.

"No need, Lady Yuki is a very special girl," replies Colin. "She has fire and innocence, quite rare to have together."

"High King Peter, with these two marrying, our lands would have a strong alliance!" King Lune chuckles, still not seeing the problem. Yuki glances at Corin for help.

"Father, perhaps you should let them decide on their own," he tells his father, taking pity on her.

"Brother! Where have you been?" screeches a voice, getting the attention of the five. They look to see Lady Cassandra stalking over, glaring at Colin. For some reason, Corin's eyes widen at the woman approaching them and lets out a quick "I'm going to look for Queen Lucy" before disappearing in a cloud of dust.

"You're her brother?" asks Peter, shocked.

"Unfortunately," Colin hisses. "But trust me, we're quite different."

"Either way, it's another reason to not marry you," Yuki lets out unconsciously, causing Peter to smirk while Colin to blush in embarrassment. Lady Cassandra's demeanor changes immediately when she notices Peter and King Lune.

"Oh, your highnesses!" she gasps in an exaggerated manner. "King Lune, you look golden tonight! And King Peter is quite handsome as well!" Yuki glares at her as Cassandra wraps herself around Peter's arm, trying to press his arm against her chest. "Oh my, and your muscles!" At this point, Yuki is torn between laughing at Peter's face or jumping on Cassandra to rip her away from him. Rolling his eyes, Colin begins dragging Yuki away, who throws another panicked look at Peter. Catching her look of despair, Peter runs for her, but is blocked by Cassandra.

"Dance with me," Colin states, pulling her waist into him. The action makes Yuki feel butterflies again, surprising her. Since when had another boy besides Peter had this effect on her? She likes Peter's gentleness, but Colin's confidence is quite attractive. "So you and King Peter?" The question shocks her.

"W-what are you talking about?" Yuki stutters. Is she really as obvious as Edmund says she is?

"Your face reveals everything about you," he answers. "It's easy to see you fancy King Peter." Seeing as Yuki doesn't answer, Colin smirks. Oh how she wish she can wipe it off his face. "I'd give up if I were you."

"And why's that?" she challenges. What is with everyone not supporting her crush for Peter? "What is your business about who I like?"

"Oh but I do, sweetheart," Colin retorts playfully, spinning her. "You think I haven't seen kings and their subjects falling in love before? All of them end the same way or another. Either the king forgets her after marrying another descendant of royalty because of pressure or their love is not enough to defeat insecurities."

"Well Narnia is different," Yuki rebuts. "Some actually want us together."

"Yes, but many do not," he returns. Colin gestures to a couple at the center, which Yuki manages to make out is Peter and Cassandra. "At some point you'll become insecure with the women throwing themselves at him and from there it will fall apart. Look around you, there are only about six noble Archenland women here and you already wanted to tear them in half for talking to King Peter." He had a point. Even if Peter likes her back, other women would look down on her and attempt to seduce him. "And the other reason I don't want you together is because I've taken a liking to you." Hearing this, Yuki snaps out of her thoughts and pushes him away, letting out a cold laugh. "What?"

"You think I'd believe that?" she hisses angrily. "I know exactly what you're doing! You're trying to split up Peter and me so your sister can get to him."

"No! That's not what I'm doing at all!" Colin pleads, taking her hand. "I already know Cassandra's personality will fail her." Yuki finally stops fighting. "I really do like you." Looking in his eyes, Yuki sees nothing but honesty in them, so she knew he was telling the truth.

"Fine, I believe you, but we wouldn't work out," she says. "The Pevensies and I come from another world, and we do not know when we will return. It is an impossible relationship."

"I don't care," Colin pushes. "I rather have you become my wife for a day and lose you the next than know you were never mine." The sweetness of his words renders Yuki shocked as she just stares at him.

"I'm sorry but no," apologizes Yuki, tearing up. "I don't know you, we've just met. I don't know how marriages here work, but from where I come from, I'm not ready and I do not want to marry you. Whatever King Lune expects of us will be nothing but hopes. Besides, Peter is the one I like." With those cold words, Yuki leaves Colin standing alone in a corner as she rushes to Susan and Edmund.

"Who was that dashing bloke?" Susan asks, grinning. She glances at him slightly before turning back to Yuki. "Oh, he's so handsome, even 'handsome' can't describe him!"

"Please, he's nothing compared to Peter to her, right Yuki?" asks Edmund, smirking. However their smiles drop when Yuki remains there with an emotionless face. "Did he do something to you?" Slowly, Yuki summarizes everything that happened between her and Colin. By the time she finished, the looks on Edmund and Susan contrasted. Susan seems flabbergasted that Yuki had rejected the marriage proposal while Edmund seems quite amused.

"She belongs with Peter, of course she has to break a couple hearts!" Edmund agrees.

"But they're incompatible!" Susan retorts. "She would be happier with Colin."

"But she likes Peter," her brother returns. "They are of the same world, so they will always be together if we get sent back."

"Ugh!" groans Susan. "You are impossible! I would love having Yuki in our family, but their personalities would not match up, as friends maybe, but as a couple that would be impossible." Susan walks off, leaving Yuki with Edmund to comfort her.

"You made the right choice," Edmund reminds her. "But if you decide to give up on our failure of a brother, I'll support your choice."

"Thanks Ed," smiles Yuki, but she can tell he would be extremely disappointed if she did.

"I said I would help get you two together, so here's a good chance," Edmund states, pointing to Peter, who looks uncomfortable as he tries to get out of Cassandra's grip. "Go dance with him."

"Can I wait a bit more?" Yuki asks, snickering. "I kinda want to see him suffer a little more."

"Good call," agrees Edmund. They two stand watching and laughing as Peter glares at them. The music slows down, signaling the end of the song and Yuki begins walking to Peter to save him. However, she freezes when another girl approaches Peter and Cassandra, Anabelle.

* * *

~Peter's POV~

* * *

Peter just stands there glaring as Colin walks off with Yuki, who has a huge blush on her face. How could King Lune even suggest a marriage between her and Colin? And how dare Colin hold Yuki's hand in such an intimate manner? Sure Peter does it too, but that's because Yuki is the mother of his rabbits! If Edmund can read his mind, he would think Peter is being jealous of possessive, but he isn't. Yuki is the Guardian of Narnia, who does this random Archenlander think he is? They've been doing things like this, Yuki is supposed to be Peter's friend! She's practically his wife/friend! Without realizing how deep he is into his thoughts, Peter finally snaps out of it when Cassandra is standing in front of him with a seductive pout.

"King Peter, what are you thinking about that's gotten your face so red?" she asks, subtly glazing his hand with her hip, causing him to freeze due to the discomfort.

"Oh, nothing," Peter quickly answers, looking at Cassandra's face. Peter had to admit Cassandra is quite beautiful, if one looked at only her outer appearance, but her personality completely throws it off. She was too flirty for Peter's liking. Yuki's flirty too, but she only played the flirty card with him, so Peter likes how she is more of a shy flirt. 'Why am I even comparing the two? They are completely different. I basically just offended Yuki be even comparing her to some like Lady Cassandra.'

"You know, your ballroom is quite grand, I would love to dance right now," Cassandra hints, but more like demands in a sickly sweet voice.

Peter nearly says, 'So go dance', but then decides against it when he realizes what she is trying to do. Grimacing mentally, Peter swallows hard and asks, "Would you like to dance, Lady Cassandra?" He immediately regrets it when Cassandra grabs his hand and drags him to the middle of the floor. Luckily for him, his spots brings him closer to Yuki and Colin. He attempts to eavesdrop on them, but frowns when Cassandra continues talking, for her voice completely drowns out the voices of Yuki and that monkey she is dancing with. The only part he can hear is the word "marriage". Is he proposing to her already?

"-ed in my hair," Cassandra vents. "King Peter, are you listening?" Peter jumps again at her accusation and begins feeling guilty. Just because he doesn't like her doesn't mean he should ignore her like this. It's just cruel and rude, not friendly at all.

"I apologize for my actions, but I am a bit distracted," Peter confesses, causing Cassandra to scowl.

"Do you like Guardian Yuki?" Cassandra asks, jealousy seething in her voice.

"Yes, but not in the way you think," Peter answers, but really he is uncertain himself. "She is a great friend and she makes my time enjoyable every time she is around. I just worry about her getting hurt is all."

"Don't worry," Cassandra comforts in a prissy manner. "Throughout all my years with Colin, I've never once seen him look at a girl like he is with Lady Yuki. Actually I've never even seen him with a girl. He won't hurt her, he's always had this silly idea of a true love and loving no one but that one girl. And from the look on his face, he seems to have found her." Even though Peter is worried about Yuki getting hurt and Cassandra's words confirms Colin's feelings for Yuki are pure, something causes Peter's heart to fall and tighten even more. Shouldn't he be relieved? Why are his worries increasing?

"And you, find the idea of true love to be silly?" asks Peter.

"Of course, it is but a silly story the poor tell themselves to feel better about their miserable lives," answers Cassandra. Is it true? Love here seems to be more of a transaction. Does true love really exist? Colin believes it in, does Yuki?

Peter snaps out of his thoughts when he feels something pushing against his chest. Peter looks down before quickly looking up again. Cassandra had pressed her chest against his, so when he looked down, he got a clear view of something his mother and sisters would cut his head off for looking at, even if it was an accident. Never had he been so close to a girl, and he is sure glad he never did, because this is very uncomfortable. The dance seem to be going on for so long, but possible because of the discomfort. Colin and Yuki had separated a while back, relieving Peter some of his worries, but instead he finds her and Ed laughing at him. Peter sends a pleading looking to Yuki, but she seems to not see them while dying of laughter. The song slows down to a stop and Peter thanks Aslan mentally for ending his misery.

"Excuse me?" a sweet voice asks, interrupting Cassandra and Peter. They look to see darling Anabelle looking at them shyly. Peter's breath nearly stops, how can someone look so beautiful? "Would you like to dance, King Peter?" Ignoring Cassandra's glare, Peter quickly takes Anabelle's hand and leads her away. As the next song starts, Peter grins at her.

"My lady, you just saved the King of Narnia, I believe a reward is expected," jokes Peter, causing Anabelle to giggle. His heart skips a beat at the sound of her cute laugh. "So what made you ask me to dance?"

"I saw how uncomfortable you were and well," her voice trails off as Peter peers into her eyes. "If I didn't, I'm sure you wouldn't ask me yourself. Who would notice the plain, quiet girl?" Realizing what she said, Anabelle quickly apologizes for ruining the mood.

"Don't worry," assures Peter. "I'm glad you asked. And for what it's worth, I think you're one of the most beautiful girls in this room." At this, Anabelle smiles brightly. Unknowing to him, two girls were watching this little moment, either heartbroken or angry.


	7. Lesson Number One

**AN: To clear up the confusion, no, Colin is not related to Corin or King Lune at all. He is Cassandra's brother, whose father is a NOBLE of King Lune. They are in no way related. I just had no idea what to call Yuki's other love interest and Colin was the first name to come to mind. While it seems obvious how similar their names are, for some reason I didn't notice. Colin is two years older than Peter, so he is not Shasta.  
**

Yuki glances around nervously as she leads Snowflake out of the stables. She had done her hair up in a simple half up, half down style with a hair chopstick Susan had gifted her. Peter said he liked her in simple things, so she took his advice.

"Oh, where is he?" she groans. "Peter was supposed to meet me here ten minutes ago!"

"Perhaps he overslept," Snowflake suggests, but they both knew Peter is always punctual. Tell him to meet at sunrise, he'll come 15 minutes early. Where can he be? He never forget his friendly dates with her.

Thirty minutes later, Yuki finds herself still waiting for Peter. By now, she is sitting on the grass, pouting while Snowflake tries to cheer her up.

"May I ask why the long face? It's hard to distinguish who is the horse here," a voice jokes, but it was a voice Yuki hated to hear.

"Shut up Colin," Yuki growls, still pouting.

"King Peter was supposed to meet the mistress this morning for some riding," Snowflake tells him, much to Yuki's displeasure.

"Was he?" Colin asks. "I hate to tell you this." He pauses a bit. "Well, actually I don't, but I just passed by King Peter and Lady Anabelle in the royal gardens. They seemed to be enjoying themselves." His words cause Snowflake to hide behind a tree while Yuki's eyes widen with fury.

"He what?!" gasps Yuki, jumping to her feet.

"Mistress! Please don't be rash!" begs Snowflake, running after her.

"That stupid block head owes me a day of horse riding and I'm going to get it!" Yuki shouts, stalking off in the direction of the garden. However when she sees Peter, her anger falters and fades into sadness. There in front of her was Peter picking a rose and giving it to Anabelle. He was smiling at her in a way Yuki never saw him smile before. They look like the perfect couple. Beautiful and sweet Lady Anabelle with High King Peter the Magnificent. The view is like a painting, but to Yuki it was knives to her heart. He was supposed to meet _her_ this morning, _not Lady Anabelle. _ He really must've forgotten about their bet the night before. The thought simply makes the feeling worse.

"Lady Yuki!" Colin calls from behind her, but stops when he notices her wet eyes.

"Mistress, are you alright?" Snowflake asks, rubbing her mistress' back with her nose.

"Sorry, Snowflake, we'll ride another day," apologizes Yuki and she begins walking to her room. Sniffing, she enters her room and sees her children on her bed laughing until they see her.

"Mama!" Kokoro cries, hopping to her feet. Seeing their mother cry, the rabbits run to her, but make sure to leave her a path to her bed. Sighing, Yuki falls onto her bed, hugging Wit as the other three surround her with concern.

"What happened?" Carrot asks as Yuki rubs her eyes, keeping the tears in.

"Is it that pretty lady papa was dancing with last night?" Wit asks. Yuki nods, but smiles at his cleverness. He is always the witty one...

"Papa can't leave mama like that!" cries Happy, glaring. However the glare on his innocent bunny face causes Yuki to giggle. "If mama's not happy, then Happy's not happy!"

"You're always Happy," Kokoro replies, not understanding it. Their innocence is enough for Yuki to stop crying.

"You know Peter and I are not really married right?" Yuki reminds them, causing them to frown.

"Well we're not really family either," retorts Carrot.

"But I'll always love you guys," states Yuki, making them smile again. "Thank you for cheering me up." At that moment, someone suddenly knocks on the door.

"Lady Yuki?" Without a doubt, that voice belongs to Colin, making Yuki sigh. "I came to check if you are alright." She trudges to the door and opens it, eyes still glossy as she looks up at him.

"Thank you for your concern, but I'm quite fine," Yuki answers quickly and attempts to shut the door, but Colin shoves his foot in at the perfect moment. Trying to lighten up the mood, he pretends as if she crushed his foot with the door.

"Ow, ow!" he fakes, making Kokoro giggle. "Lady Yuki, you've killed my foot! I believe a way to apologize is by letting me into your room!"

"But that's highly inappropriate!" she shouts in horror, but Colin continues standing there, groaning and exaggerating his fake pain. "Fine! You can come in as long as you stop your horrendous acting!" Chuckling, Colin enters, no longer 'hurt'. Even though they are not alone in the room, Yuki feels that way because for some reason Colin's presence is all it takes for her to have butterflies.

"Who are you?" Wit questions, getting in attack mode. Carrot mirrors him from the side.

"It's okay, he's a friend," Yuki says, and Wit calms down, but Carrot remains on guard.

"He's pretty," Kokoro sighs, and squeals slightly when Colin picks her up.

"Well I see you are no longer hurt, so you can leave now," states Yuki coldly. She felt bad for treating him in such a way when he was concerned about her, but he made her feel too nervous. "Sorry, I'm just not in the mood right now. Please leave."

"I'm afraid I can't leave when you are so upset," replies Colin, sighing. Yuki reaches out for Kokoro, who jumps into her arms. "And you left so suddenly, Snowflake was quite worried too, so I took her back to the stables. However she is still sad since you two are supposed to be riding." Yuki frowns, feeling guilty. She abandoned her friend simply because a boy forgot her. Seeing her troubled face, Colin links her arm with his. "Tell you what, I volunteer to replace King Peter for your horse riding today." Before she can protest, Wit interrupts her.

"Mama, don't waste your time being sad," he urges. "Papa's having fun, so you should too."

"I wanna go too!" Happy chimes, hopping on her. Yuki giggles, agreeing. They were right. Peter and her are just friends, and she told Susan she would give up on him anyway. Sp why should she mope around while Peter probably doesn't even remember breaking his promise to her?

"So is that a yes, milady?" Colin asks, smirking. His smirk fades to a look of pain when Carrot sneakily bites his foot, giving him real pain.

"I still don't like you," Carrot hisses, thumping Colin.

* * *

"Hurry up!" Yuki laughs, rushing Colin as Snowflake gracefully glides across the field.

"Not all of us were made for riding!" gasps Colin, nearly falling off his horse.

"Mama's too good!" Carrot cackles. "Look at him!" The four bunnies, Snowflake, and Yuki turn to see poor Colin clinging onto Thunder's reigns for dear life.

"Of all the horses, you picked me," Thunder growls, approaching them. Yuki laughs so hard, she ends up falling off Snowflake. "Guardian, do you hate me? Why would you put me with such a horrible rider?"

"I beg to differ!" Colin yells, falling off as Thunder bucks him off. "I have a horrible horse." He stands up, but is kicked in the butt by Thunder. The sight causes Yuki to laugh even harder, rolling on the ground.

"I love you Thunder!" Carrot giggles. "I don't like him either."

"Are you okay?" asks Kokoro with genuine concern, looking at both Colin and Yuki.

"I think mama's lost it," Happy comments innocently as Wit shakes his head. When she finally calms down, Yuki stands up and wipes the tears from her eyes.

"You know, judging by how you look, I thought you'd-" Yuki's voice trails off, too embarrassed to continue. Colin crosses his arms and smirks while quirking an eyebrow.

"Oh? And what do I look like?" he pushes, leaning in closer. Snowflake quickly uses her tail to block the view from Kokoro and Happy as Thunder does so for Wit and Carrot.

"Y-you look like one of those p-perfect people so I-I thought y-you'd be good at e-everything," she stutters, blushing harder as he leans closer.

"So you think I'm perfect?" asks Colin, getting more smug by the second as Yuki gains more and more butterflies. "Hm, you think I'm good at everything. Well do you think I'd be good at sweeping you off your feet?" Colin's spicy scent floods her nose as he closes the gap. He slowly tilts her chin up and before she realizes it, Yuki begins leaning in too.

"Away from mama!" Carrot threatens, hopping onto Colin and scurries all over him, thumping him randomly. Quickly forgetting her lovestruck state from earlier, Yuki begins giggling at Colin again. Instead of being abused by Thunder this time, Colin is on the ground pleading for mercy against Carrot, who randomly bits him as he plows around. Once again, the horses and rabbits join Yuki in on the laughter.

"Heel boy, heel!" Wit shouts, thumping Carrot off.

"Thank you," Colin gasps, standing up. He stalks over to Yuki with a fake angry look on his face. He picks her up as a prince would a princess, but Yuki is far from a princess, causing her to squeal and hit his chest.

"Put me down!" she protests, hitting him with her fists. He didn't want to admit it, but Yuki did hurt him with her little fists. Under normal conditions it might've felt like feathers being thrown at him. But with her training in the army, it felt like boulders. He finally obeys her and drops her to her feet. "Don't do that again! Who knows what people would think if they saw us like that!"

"I don't mind if they think I like you because I do," Colin states calmly, making Yuki's heart beat faster.

"And don't say that so casually!" she groans, getting back on Snowflake. "I thank you for making me forget this morning, but please don't push my limits."

"You blame me for being too forward, but I blame you for being irresistible," counters Colin, but Yuki was far from amused. However it did make her tingle every time he implied him fancying her. Never had anyone taken such an interest in her and it made her feel special that someone as handsome as Colin would pursue her, but he probably does this to many girls much more beautiful than her. Rolling her eyes, Yuki puts the rabbits on her saddle.

"Good bye, Colin," Yuki repeats and begins leaving on Snowflake. But Colin quickly gets on Thunder and blocks their way. "What?"

"Fine, I'll stop being so forward with you," he pleads, begging her to not leave with his eyes. "I'll wait for you to be more comfortable before I act like that again."

"Thank you," Yuki whispers, but it was enough for him to hear. She looks down, too embarrassed to look at him in the eyes.

"Come on, why don't we start your first magic lesson?" he asks. "It'll give me a change to regain my dignity."

"You lost it when you screamed from Carrot's attacks," Wit states bluntly, causing the girls to giggle. Colin shoots him an annoyed glare.

"Yeah, it's still on the ground," Carrot adds, smirking. This causes Yuki to laugh more as Kokoro takes pity on him and jumps over to him and Thunder.

"I want to see mama do magic," Kokoro chimes, saving Colin from more embarrassment.

"But-" Yuki starts, but is cut off by Colin.

"Is the Guardian scared of going out of her comfort zone?" he taunts.

"Let's go!" Yuki looks at Colin with a smirk. "I bet I can beat you back!" Yuki shouts over the wind, rushing right past him.

* * *

"I win!" Yuki cheers, turning Snowflake around, but she doesn't see anyone behind her. "Colin? Kokoro?"

"Boo," a low voice whispers, causing her to shriek. Snowflake bucks, sending Yuki down.

"Mistress!" gasps Snowflake. "I'm terribly sorry! Are you alright?" Yuki groans a yes and the two look behind them to see Colin removing the magic wings from Thunder.

"Mama! Are those?!" asks Happy, wide eyed.

"Papa's got competition now," Wit mumbles.

"Tch, show off," grumles Carrot, jumping into Yuki's arms.

"You gave him wings?!" she gasps, not believing her eyes.

"Well I knew I wouldn't beat you on the ground, so I did what I do best, magic," Colin states casually, facing her with a smirk. He would never forget this moment, the very first time he impresses her. Of course he'd keep finding new things to impress her with, but the first moments are special.

"You cheated!" complains Yuki, pouting and turning away.

"Technically you never laid out rules, just said you bet you can beat me back," the brunette retorts, smirking more when Yuki opens her mouth to counter. However when she realizes he is right, her mouth just remains open with no words coming out. "Close it, dearest, you'll catch dryad petals." Colin turns to take Kokoro out of her saddle.

"Mama did you see?! I was flying!" Kokoro cheers. Colin looks at her with relief, if she likes him this much, Kokoro will definitely be able to help him in his quest for Yuki's heart.

"Well then would you like to fly again?" he asks her, who in turn nods happily. "Okay, everyone stand back." Everyone does as he says and Colin concentrates on little Kokoro. After a few seconds, light creates wings on her back, giving her temporary wings.

"I'm flying, I'm flying!" she cheers, gliding through the sky.

"Wow! That's amazing!" Happy says in awe.

"Kokoro be careful!" Yuki warns cautiously. "Get her down! She could get hurt!"

"Well you definitely sound like a mother," Colin chuckles, but obeys her wish and lowers Kokoro to Yuki before taking away the wings.

"Can you teach me to do that?" Yuki asks hopefully. Maybe she can make ice wings for battle. Then again, if she can then the White Witch would have too.

"I don't think so," apologizes Colin. "Like I said when I first met you, you don't have magic. Your use with the wand will be quite limited. Get your wand." Shrugging, Yuki slips out the ice wand from her saddle's hidden compartment. "It was there the whole time?!" She laughs at his shocked expression. He was almost cute, _almost._

"Who's the idiot that would leave it out in the open?" Wit asks rhetorically.

"Colin," Carrot answers.

"Smart girl," he chuckles. "And rude rabbit." Carrot huffs and points his nose away, causing Colin to frown. If her 'son' keeps seeing him this way, he might influence Yuki's decision on him.

"Well then what do you think you can teach me?" she asks. "I already know how to make walls."

"The way I learned was through drastic measures," Colin explains. "So the only way I teach is by using drastic measures."

"And what does that mean?" Yuki asks, fear evident in her voice. By the superior tone he had, it didn't sound good, or safe. She mentally hits herself, realizing she's been asking him so many questions.

"It means," Colin pauses and makes an ice dome to surround them, blocking the bunnies out, "that you will learn with life threatening situations."

"Life threatening?!" she screeches in horror. "What are you doing?! Am I supposed to fight you?! This isn't fair!"

"Don't worry, this is just a protection spell to make sure nothing outside gets destroyed," chuckles Colin. "They can see and hear us just fine."

"Mama!" Happy cries.

"Don't worry, he won't hurt her, he likes her too much," Kokoro chimes enthusiastically.

"Let's hope papa won't overreact," Wit groans. Back inside the dome, Colin continues with a different spell. Yuki shakes with fear as he brings forth a golem.

"Please don't tell me I'm fighting that," she begs, making him chuckle.

"Okay, I won't," he complies, but she lets out a yelp when the golem slams down on her.

"I thought you said I won't be fighting that?!" she growls, jumping out of the way as the fist comes down again. Colin laughs loudly as Yuki scrambles around like a cat, dodging every punch.

"No, I said I won't _tell _you that you're fighting him," Colin grins, making her wish she would golem punch him to death. "Here's your first lesson, take him down. Only magic is allowed, your sword is not allowed."

"How am I supposed to take him down if I don't know how to use the wand's magic?!" retorts Yuki, tiring out quickly.

"That's what the golem is for," he explains. "The golem will push you beyond your limits, that is when your most powerful magic comes out. Magic is about emotions. Use them to take him down." He looks at the sweat on Yuki. "And I suggest you do it quick before he scrambles you." She lets out a loud, frustrated yell. How dare he put her life in danger?! Glaring at him, Yuki feels as if a force is coming from her and before she knows it, she uses her wand to blast ice at Colin. Even though it looked powerful to her, he watches calmly and clears away the blast with a basic fire shield, smirking. Why did he have to smirk so damn much?!

"Stop smirking!" she shouts, losing focus and gets knocked away by the golem.

"That anger is perfect, now just direct it at the golem," he commands, not moving a muscle. She tries to stand up, but is quickly swatted down by the golem's fist. He continuously knocks her around, to the point where even Colin began to feel irritated. "Are you even being serious about this?! It shouldn't be too hard! Take him down!"

"Easy for you to say! You aren't the ping pong ball!" Yuki shrieks over the golem's roar.

"A what?!" he asks, exasperated. "Just tune out everything else and focus on your anger! Think of something that made you really angry, as if you were wronged! Use that feeling and channel it into the wand." Nodding, Yuki closes her eyes and attempt to numb herself to the pain the golem is dealing. She thinks back to England, where she was bullied. Those ignorant girls who always asked if she was Chinese. Then those times when the teachers saw her getting bullied but didn't do anything except snicker at her embarrassment. She remembers back to how much she wanted to yell and scream at them. Then she thinks to how useless and worthless they made her feel. She had to become better than them, to show them they were all beneath her. She tried to treat them with respect. Yet they always walked over her as if she was dirt under their shoes.

The anger slowly generates into the wand and Yuki gasps, seeing it blast a gigantic shard at the golem. She feels quite proud of herself for casting a strong attack, but unfortunately it misses.

"That's good enough," Colin says, and waves the golem away. Yuki falls to the ground with a thud. He walks over to where she is on the ground and rubbing her head, offering his hand. "I'll be honest, I can't tell if you're my best or worst student. All my beginners are able to take down the golem, but I've never seen anyone cast a nice blast on the first hand."

"I take it as a failure," she mumbles. "I couldn't take him down."

"True, even the most powerful spells are useless if they miss," he chuckles. Colin takes down the ice dome and when it is fully down, they turn to see a smiling Anabelle and Peter next to her. However she could not read Peter's expression as she read Anabelle's.


	8. Drifting Apart

~Peter~

"And this is the way to the stables," Peter tells Annabelle, leading her to his prized unicorn. Seeing Snowflake, he waves at her, but she snorts and looks away in anger. Confused, Peter makes a mental note to ask her what's wrong later.

"He's quite beautiful," comments Anabelle, stroking its mane. Her voice brings Peter out of his thoughts.

"Yes, but I seem someone much more beautiful," he replies smoothly, causing her to blush. Peter inwardly chuckles at her cuteness. What's wrong with him? He's never flirted so much before. The light shined on her golden hair perfectly, which perfectly framed her perfect face. Oh Aslan, how can there be a girl that's so... so perfect? 'I should ask Susan for a thesaurus later...' Anabelle gave him butterflies, took away his breath, and had a kind heart. What more can a boy ask for? When he first heard of the Archenland ladies, he shuddered at the thought of marrying, but now with Annabelle, he thought he wouldn't mind so much. Even her name is pretty.

Finally Annabelle notices Peter staring at her, causing her to blush and both of them to look away.

"Is there something on my face, King Peter?" she asks, feeling self-conscious.

"No, nothing, it's just seeing you with my unicorn seem like a painting," answers Peter, scolding himself for sounding like a creep. He thanks Aslan once again when he hears her giggling.

"My king, if you have time, can we go horse riding for a bit?" asks Annabelle. "I would love to see Narnia's lands." Her question stirs guilt in him, as if he's forgotten something like this before. But he pushes the feeling aside.

"Of course," he states, opening the gate to the unicorn's place. "And what better time than now?" The smile on her face makes his heart skip a beat. Suddenly a frantic voice ruins the atmosphere.

"Papa! Papa!" Carrot cries, running into the stables alone. "Papa come quick!"

"Carrot!" gasps Annabelle, reaching for him, but he pushes past her and to Peter.

"What happened? Did someone attack Cair Paravel?!" Peter asks, just as frantic. "How'd you find me? What's going on?!" Carrot begins tugging Peter's leggings.

"Papa, follow me!" begs the little rabbit. "Mama's in trouble!"

"Yuki!" gasps Peter and dashes after his 'son' without a second thought, nearly forgetting Anabelle, who follows after them as fast as she can.

* * *

"Papa!" Happy greets, jumping into his arms.

"What is this?!" Peter asks, scared out of his mind. Carrot led him to some giant dome where the other three spectate a fight inside. Peering through the clear ice, he nearly faints, seeing a strange ice monster knocking Yuki around. "Yuki!" He begins pounding on the glass, hoping it would break.

"Don't worry papa," Wit tells him, trying to calm him down. "Sir Colin is teaching her how to use her wand."

"What?!" Peter gasps, looking back. "He's not going to hurt her is he?" He flinches as Yuki gets knocked down again.

"No, he likes her," Kokoro answers, and Peter stares at the little one in shock. He knew Colin likes her, but the way Kokoro said it sounded like he really liked her. "Papa, you really messed up." Confusion rises in him as he wonders what she meant.

"You're going to lose, papa," Happy chimes in, adding more confusion. "If I were a girl, I'd choose the lad who likes me and shows it, not the one who forgets dates." Oh dear, Aslan! Annabelle!

"I forgot Annabelle!" he gasps aloud, but Happy sighs in disappointment. Peter turns to see Annabelle running toward him, out of breath. "Annabelle! I'm so sorry! I thought Yuki was in trouble and I just acted without thinking!"

"King Peter, please," Annabelle says, stopping him. "It's perfectly understandable. You help whoever's in need, and Yuki was in trouble. I understand." Peter sighs happily, is she really that perfect?

"Mama's not in trouble," denies Kokoro. "She's in training."

"And hopefully soon, she'll be in love," grins Happy.

"With Colin," Kokoro adds. Peter's stomach churns at that thought. Yuki and Colin? What a horrible couple! She's too good for him! If anyone, Yuki should be with only... Peter's mental voice trails off. Who should she be with? It definitely can't be Colin though. Archenland's best mage? Peter is sure Colin is only the best there because he is the only mage in Archenland.

"Papa is much better than him!" Carrot growls, huffing. Peter smirks at his son. That's right! Peter's much better than Colin! What would Yuki want with some bloke who only looks good? He probably can't sword fight at all! And he knows Yuki much more than Colin does.

"Peter, look!" Annabelle cries, pointing at the dome again.

"That's right, use your anger!" Colin shouts to Yuki. Peter watches closely as Yuki closes her eyes and a powerful blast explodes from the wand. The shard hits the dome, shaking everything inside. It was quite strong, but it had missed its target. Colin says something to Yuki and makes the golem disappear. Peter stands there in awe. He never knew she was capable of something like that. And if that much came from her anger, then it made Peter wonder what she thought about. Yuki sits there on the ground, panting, as Colin removes the ice wall. Annabelle claps while the bunnies cheer, but Peter didn't know what to think.

"Lady Yuki, you were incredible!" Annabelle compliments, running to her as the bunnies follow, but Carrot stays by him.

"Papa, challenge him to a spar!" he pleads.

"What?!" Peter asks, confused once again. "Why?"

"You can't lose to him, papa!" Carrot begs, looking at him with sad and angry eyes. "I don't want mama to end up with him!"

"I don't either," replies Peter, wondering what his reason is. Obviously Carrot doesn't want it because in his eyes, he wants Peter with her. But Yuki doesn't like him that way, and Peter doesn't feel that way about her, so what's _his_ reason?

"So fight him!" Carrot urges, pushing him over. "Hey Colin! Papa challenges you to a sword fight!" Yuki looks at Peter with an unreadable expression as Colin smirks.

"B-but I-" Peter starts but is cut off by Colin.

"It would be an honor, King Peter," he agrees. It was too late to back out now. As soon as Colin accepted the challenge, something in Peter takes over, and he knew he had to win against Colin.

"No, Colin, I want to spar with Peter," Yuki interrupts, surprising everyone.

"Are you not exhausted from your fight with my golem?" asks Colin, genuinely worried for her. The way he looked at her infuriated Peter. Who does he think he is?

"Mama?" asks Kokoro, slightly frightened. The bunnies begin whispering something about this morning, making Peter think. He did feel like he forgot something this morning, is that what is making her mad?

"Alright," Colin smiles gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Let's get the training swords, though."

"Fine with me," grumbles Yuki. What is going on? Why is Yuki so prissy today? Why couldn't she be all sunshine and smiles like Annabelle? He mentally scoffs at Colin's suggestion. He and Yuki have been fighting with real swords for a long time, why would he want to go to wooden swords? He knew it, Colin is just a coward and a fake like Peter thought.

"My king, are you alright?" Annabelle asks, standing in front of him. Her face calms him down as he releases the tight grip he had on his sword without knowing.

"Yes, why do you ask?" Peter asks, trying to remove any traces of anger on his face.

"Your knuckles turned white and you were glaring at Sir Colin," she whispers to him.

"No, I'm quite alright, thank you for your kindness, Lady Annabelle," he says to her. Colin returns with two wooden swords. He gives one to Yuki gently, but Peter rips the sword out of Colin's hands rudely. "Thank you, Colin. You may retract to the back with the others." Glaring, Colin walks over to stand with Annabelle and the rabbits. Peter lets out a silent growl when Kokoro jumps into his arms, already liking the bloke.

Peter then turns his attention back to Yuki. All the tension in him fades away when he gets in position across from her. Sparring with Yuki always helps him clear his worries, and this is no different, or so he thinks. Peter gives her a boyish grin.

"Hope you're ready to lose again, Tanaka!" Peter jokes, but feels slightly worried when Yuki just glares at him. She would always respond to his taunts during their spars. The feeling in his stomach gets worse when she leaps at him, slamming the sword down on him. "Whoa!"

"Is this normal?" Anabelle asks, watching Peter trying to get up and Yuki constantly knocking him down.

"I don't know, but Lady Yuki sure has fire in her, doesn't she?" grins Colin, watching with amusement.

"This is for this morning!" shouts Yuki, dodging Peter's lame attempt to hit her and rolling over to trip him.

"What? What are you talking about?!" Peter demands, fearing for his life. These may be training swords, but something's gotten into Yuki and she is taking it out on him pretty hard.

"Baka! You don't even know what you did!" snarls Yuki in anger. Peter gasps, seeing her tear up. His shock gives Yuki what she needs to knock the sword out of Peter's hands. The two stand still, with Yuki's training sword at Peter's throat. The spectators cheer, but quickly feel torn between laughing or helping when Yuki continues bashing Peter with the wooden swords.

"Ow! Spar is over! Stop!" begs Peter, trying to block her arms. "Ow! Hey! Stop it you violent girl!"

"You deserve it!" Yuki growls, letting out all the anger she felt toward him.

"You're going to bruise me!"

"Good!"

"Violent girl!"

"Git!"

Finally Peter snaps and manages to grab her wrists, causing them to struggle against each other. Apologizing for his lack of manners, Peter throws Yuki off of him. She lands on her back with a loud "oof!" and gets up to lunge at Peter again, only to be held back by Colin.

"Lady Yuki, I think that's enough for King Peter's punishment," he laughs. "Although that was entertaining."

"What?" asks Peter, rubbing his swollen head. "What punishment?" Instead of answering him, Yuki lets out a loud and frustrated groan before stomping away into the castle.

"Papa you really messed up," Happy tells him.

"Can someone just tell me what's going on?" he demands, but his four children begin following Yuki without answering him. His attention turns to Colin. "You, what do you know?"

"I don't know, does a horse riding trip ring any bells?" asks Colin, equally confused. Thinking about it for a quick moment, Peter's eyes widen when he remembers.

"My king?" asks Anabelle. Her sweet voice is like music to his ears, but right now isn't the time to be distracted. Peter shakes his head and faces Anabelle.

"I forgot something important!" he tells her. "I'm sorry Lady Anabelle, but I hope you two can return to the castle on your own, I must fix this!" With that, he runs after his best friend, calling for her. He cautiously sneaks a glance through the crack of her door and sees Yuki violently brushing her hair.

"I can't believe him!" Yuki growls, pacing as she brushes. "He forgot our deal to go horse back riding today! And then he has the nerve to act like nothing's wrong!"

"Aren't you going a bit overboard mama?" Wit asks. Peter winces when Yuki punches her pillow, leaving a nice pit in the middle. Realizing that it could've been him, Peter silently gulps in fear. "I mean, if Queen Lucy did this, you wouldn't be as mad right?"

"W-well, it's d-different," replies Yuki.

"How so?" Kokoro asks.

"P-Peter forgot because of a girl," she states, frowning. "At least if it were the other three, they'd have a good reason." Feeling offended by that comment, Peter mindlessly walks into the room and speaks up.

"And what makes you think I wouldn't have a good reason?" he asks, glaring at her.

"Well did you?" retorts Yuki and Peter's glare changes to an apologetic look.

"Okay, I messed up," he admits, putting his pride aside. "I'm truly sorry for-" Yuki interrupts him by throwing one of her pillows at his face.

"Not as sorry as you're going to be!" she threatens and lunges at him. Peter lets out a painful groan as she tackles him onto the bed and begins beating him with a pillow. Carrot and Happy can't help but cackle and roll over at the sight: the Guardian straddling the High King and abusing him with a pillow. "Take that!"

"Mama's really gone overboard now," Wit sighs, not knowing how to stop it.

"Aren't you overreacting?" asks Kokoro, rolling her little eyes.

"Papa make it up to her!" Carrot urges. "You can still win her love back!" At the 'L' word, both Peter and Yuki stop what they're doing and stare at the rabbits in shock.

"Since when do I love him?" Yuki asks with a red face.

"And why would I want her love back?" adds Peter, moving Yuki off him. "Her love is hurtful." Seeing the pleading look in the rabbits' eyes, the two sigh and shake hands.

"Fine, we'll make up for you guys," states Yuki, but Kokoro lets out a loud disagreement.

"A hand shake doesn't make it up!" she pouts. "At least hug it out!"

"Fine," Peter sighs playfully and wraps his arms around a hesitant Yuki. Feeling her arms slowly come up, he smirks. "You know, Yuki, I really love you." Yuki lets out a loud "Ow!" when Peter squeezes her. Seeing through his game, Yuki smirks back.

"And I, you," she returns with an evil smile. This time, Yuki stomps heavily on his foot, causing him to wince. "I'm too short, let me do this to hug you better." With that, Yuki squeezes him back, and she can feel him wincing from the strength she has.

"Good enough," sighs Wit, shaking his head at his immature parents. "And what else, papa?"

"I'll fulfill my horse riding trip with you tomorrow," Peter promises with his charming smile. "I'll meet you a few hours around sunrise tomorrow for sure, and we will ride for as long as you want."

"I'd like that," smiles Yuki, genuinely hugging him right now. "Thank you, Peter."

* * *

"Good morning, Snowflake!" Yuki chirps happily, leading her horse out of her stables.

"I see you're in a good mood today," chortles her horse. "Does it have to do with a certain king?"

"Of course, he's finally going on that trip he promised me," replies Yuki, smiling. However her horse gives her a sly look.

"You know what I mean," Snowflake continues to interrogate, chuckling at the blush on her mistress' face. "When will you tell him?"

"Honestly, you're as bad as Edmund!" laughs Yuki, causing Snowflake to snort, offended. They finally arrive at the meeting place to see Peter with their four rabbits, already prepared in his saddle's side seats.

"Lady Yuki," greets the unicorn by Peter's side.

"Good morning Yuki!" Peter greets happily, waving to her and Snowflake. "Are you ready to go?"

"I was ready since yesterday," she smirks at him. Peter returns a guilty smile before getting on his unicorn.

"Mama..." Wit whispers in a warning tone. Yuki then mounts Snowflake and the two begin to ride through the forest in random directions.

"Nice choice of footwear," Peter teases, gesturing to the boots she wears underneath her dress.

"Why thank you, your highness. It's such an honor that the handsome High King Peter notices my attire," Yuki says back, half joking. "Come on, let's race Peter." His eyebrow quirks, showing his interest in her challenge.

"You're on, Tanaka," Peter accepts, handing his crown to the rabbits to guard. "From here to the river."

"I vote on mama," chirps Kokoro and jumps over to a saddle on Yuki's side. However the boys remained loyal to their father, receiving a playful glare from Yuki.

"Fine then boys!" pouts Yuki. Peter couldn't help but laugh at how cute that sight was. "I love you, Kokoro." She hugs the only loyal rabbit of the group before preparing herself for the race. "Alright, on 3."

"One."

"Two."

"Thr-" Yuki is cut off by Peter starting early, forcing her to attempt to catch up. "Hey you cheater!"

"You snooze, you lose, Tanaka!" Peter laughs over the wind.

"I told you papa would win!" Carrot cries. Yuki smiles, hearing Happy cackle. That one is always laughing for some reason.

"We can't let him win!" Kokoro moans to Snowflake.

"I don't lose to cheaters!" replies Snowflake, picking up the speed. Since Peter only had a second head start, Yuki, Snowflake, and Kokoro are able to easily catch up soon.

"You handle the race, Snowflake. I've got Peter!" Yuki grins. Peter turns to her to stick out his tongue, but yells in shock when Yuki grabs it.

"Ey! Et goh!" he yells, trying to whack her hand away. At this point, the boys decide to change teams and switch to Yuki's side pockets on the saddle. "You traitors!" Yuki winks at him before Snowflake speeds up again, surpassing Peter's unicorn by a few feet. Seeing their destination, Yuki turns to stick her tongue at Peter, unaware and unprepared for when Snowflake skids to a stop, sending her flying into the river. Peter and his unicorn slow down to a stop before the river.

"Congratulations Tanaka, you won," Peter chuckles. She playfully glares at him as he extends a hand out to her. For a second Yuki considered pulling him in with her, but that might be unwise since she's too tired to deal with him afterwards. Instead she simply accepts his friendly gesture and allows him to fish her from the river.

"Thanks, and by the way?" Yuki punches him on the arm. Hard. Peter lets out an unmanly yelp, causing the horses and rabbits to laugh.

"What was that for?!" he growls, rubbing it.

"For cheating!" she answers, hands on her hips as if she is a mother scolding her son. Peter winces a second time when she begins beating him with a twig.

"This can be considered child abuse!" Peter yells over the sounds of the twig's contacts against his armor. She playfully hits him one more time before grabbing Snowflake's reigns and walks her. Guessing that she wants to walk, Peter does the same, matching her pace. Yuki glances slightly at Peter and turns red when she sees him smiling at her. Why must his smile be so charming? "Alright, come on now. The sun is setting. We should be heading back." Yuki frowns as she looks at the sky.

"Already?" she pouts. "It feels like barely two hours."

"Time sure flies when you have fun," chuckles Peter, helping her mount her horse. "I really enjoyed our time together today. There's no one I'd rather spend a day like this with." The two share a smile.

"Papa, can we go home now?" asks Carrot, jumping back to Peter. "I'm hungry."

"You definitely are like your uncle Edmund," Yuki laughs, covering her mouth as she does so.

"Alright, off we go!" Peter jokes and turns his unicorn around. As they ride, Yuki can't help but admire the beautiful pink and blue sky.

"The sky looks gorgeous doesn't it?" Yuki asks, making some small talk. Peter smiles at the sparkle in her eyes as she stares up.

"It does, it's beautiful how the pink and orange blend into the light blue," he comments, following her gaze.

"I can't think of anything more beautiful," sighs Yuki,treasuring this moment.

"I can," Peter suddenly states and Yuki feels herself blush.

'Oh how sweet!' Yuki thinks to herself, feeling blood rush to her cheeks.

"Anabelle," he continues, and Yuki can hear a huge needle scratch as she snaps out of her thoughts.

"What?" The question causes Peter to look at her with a huge grin on his face.

"You said you couldn't think of anything more beautiful," Peter reminds her. "So I said Anabelle. As beautiful as the sky is right now, I think it's nothing compared to Anabelle." At this, Snowflake whinnies, jerking to a stop due to Yuki's shock. Peter, on the other hand, continues cluelessly. The horses share an awkward glance as Happy coughs loudly.

He can't possibly fall for the new girl that fast can he? He's only known her for about three days! Thoughts scramble through Yuki's mind as Snowflake begins walking again. However she remains silent, not trusting her voice or thoughts right now. Sure she has no rights to him, but he's going on and on about Anabelle in front of her for Pete's sake! What can she say? Things get even worse when Kokoro speaks up.

"Well I think Sir Colin is more beautiful than the sky!" she growls, glaring at Peter. Both Yuki and Peter look down at their daughter, confused. Kokoro subtly winks at Yuki, who groans at her daughter's plan to make Peter jealous.

"Let's just race back to Cair Paravel!" Yuki suddenly challenges to save herself from any more embarrassment.

"Mama!" Kokoro protests but stops when Yuki gives her a look.

"Faster, Snowflake, I don't want him to catch up to us," Yuki pleads in her ears quietly.

"As you wish," Snowflake obeys and picks up the speed. Luckily Peter's unicorn understood the situation and purposely ran slower, allowing Yuki to avoid any more awkwardness.

* * *

Yuki enters her room alone, leaning against the door. She feels too tired to walk to the bed. How could she when Peter talked of another girl in such a way? Why couldn't it be her that he talks about?

"Susan's right," Yuki mumbles to herself. "It's not meant to be between us." She is so into her thoughts, she doesn't even realize tears formed in her eyes. "It's fine, he's just a boy. He's not the only boy in the world. It's just a crush, I shouldn't cry about this." With that, Yuki wipes away her tears, washes her face, and gets changed to meet Susan at the archery field for training.


	9. Edmund's Blessing: A New Official Rival

"Don't go too far!" Yuki calls out to Lucy and Corin, who are playing happily together as they chase Carrot. "Colin, I must thank you for agreeing to come along to help me watch these two." A frown hits Yuki when she remembers that Peter is supposed to be the one watching over them with her. But due to a request by King Lune and plans with Annabelle, Yuki ends up losing her time with Peter. Luckily Colin agreed to help her out and go along with her for today. Yuki quickly shakes off her sad thoughts and replaces her frown with a smile.

"Of course, it is my honor to protect Archenland's future king and Narnia's queen," Colin states politely, smiling down at Yuki. His smile turns into a smirk as he pulls Yuki into him. "And... to be able to spend time with you is also an honor, my future lady." Yuki blushes at his flirting tactics and push him off her. "Ah just think, one day we will be doing this with our own children." Hearing this, both Lucy and Yuki turn towards him with wide eyes.

"Hey! Get your hands off my mama!" Carrot shouts, trying to thump Colin's foot.

"But Yuki! You said you like my brother!" she accuses, shocked, causing Colin to burst out in laughter while Yuki blushes even more.

"Lucy, I think you said that a bit too loud," Corin whispers to her. Lucy throws Yuki an apologetic look as Yuki face palms.

"No one says love is easy, so I expect some competition for someone as wonderful as Lady Yuki," Colin answers confidently. "But for her, I'm willing to go through any lengths to take her heart."

"Okay enough talking about my love life, let's just play today okay?" Yuki asks them, mentally exhausted. She quickly pushes Lucy and Corin away from Colin. "I know! Let's play hide and seek! I'll count first!" As Yuki closes her eyes to count, Lucy and Colin laugh gleefully, running off to hide together. Meanwhile, Colin and Carrot glare at each other, staying out of the game.

"Why are you really here, C-Carrot?" asks Colin to the little rabbit, still not used to talking animals. Now talking to one as if it's a person seems just as weird to him. "You offered to come along on a play date and you aren't playing."

"Stay away from mama!" defies Carrot. "Mama's going to marry papa!" His outburst causes Colin to raise an eyebrow.

"Oh? Well he looks pretty occupied with Lady Annabelle," he points out.

"Well they're meant to be!" the little one fights back. "We're already planning to keep Annabelle away from papa. Mama already likes him so it'll work out in the end."

"If two people are meant to be, they'll come together on their own without help from others," retorts the sorcerer. "Not to mention if they are meant to be, no matter who comes between them, they won't break." At this, Carrot is speechless, causing Colin to smirk. "My feelings toward Yuki are true if you're worried about her. But if Peter really does not carry a torch for our Lady Yuki, then it would be better for her to fall for me, wouldn't it?"

"W-why do you like mama so much?" asks Carrot, putting his hatred aside for once.

"Just look at her," Colin says, nodding towards Yuki. Carrot winces slightly when he sees Lucy and Corin jump onto her and run off.

"So you like her just because she's pretty?" Carrot asks, not sure what he means. Colin chuckles slightly at the rabbit's cluelessness.

"Beautiful, yes," Colin starts, "but no, that is not my reason for loving her. Look at that smile on her face. She finds joy in making others happy. And when she's weak, she pushes herself to become stronger. Another reason is something I've said before, Lady Yuki has innocence in her yet so much fire at the same time. When she loves someone, she does so with a pure heart. She doesn't judge someone based on their past, she judges their present selves, like Aslan's Shield. She's constantly pushing herself past her limits in everything. Yet at the same time you can't help but look at her and see a fighter. She's like a stubborn deer that needs help yet won't ask for it. Something about her just makes me want to protect her."

"I don't know how you could feel all of that when you have only been here for a short while," Carrot retorts with attitude. "Papa and mama have been together for much longer than that, you know?"

"Love knows no time," Colin boasts proudly. "When I saw her arguing with the High King at the shore, I knew right away that she was a rare flower. Pardon me for saying so, but your High King is a fool for not realizing this."

"I guess since you're honest about this, I'll be more civil towards you," pouts Carrot, slightly angry that he can't say no to someone like that. "But papa will be the one mama ends up with!" With that, he turns his fluffy tail around and begins to run toward the castle.

"You're it," a laughing voice says, tapping Colin on the shoulder. He turns around to see Yuki grinning at him as the two kids laugh behind her.

"We're playing tag now and you're it!" Corin teases.

"Yuki, now's your chance to run while he's still confused!" Lucy encourages, running off with Colin. Following her advice, Yuki spins around to flee. Colin, finally understanding the situation begins running after them.

* * *

Peter's heart beats fast as he holds Annabelle's hand in his.

"Now tilt it forward like this," he instructs her, helping her hold the practice sword correctly.

"Like this?" she asks cutely, making Peter's heart flutter even more. He chuckles a bit. Despite him helping her, her stance is still pretty bad.

"No, actually you're a bit too stiff," Peter says. "Um... Why don't you relax your body a bit? You won't be able to swing well if your arms and body move as they are now."

"Peter, I don't think Lady Annabelle is the type who enjoys sword fighting," comments Edmund, seeing the discomfort on her face. At first it was amusing to see Peter teach her, but now it was just painful. Annabelle is obviously not like Yuki, who enjoys learning such things, she wanted to stop a long time ago. As for Edmund, it got painful seeing how awful she was with just holding a sword.

"I apologize, milady, I didn't mean to force you so," Peter apologizes, loosening his grip on her hands.

"No, I'm afraid I must apologize," Annabelle speaks timidly. "I am unable to perform to your expectations despite how long you spent teaching me how to wield a sword and strike properly."

"But if you didn't want to practice, why didn't you tell me?" asks Peter, feeling guiltier than ever. "I would've planned something better that you would also enjoy."

"It's just... You seem to enjoy training so much and your eyes sparkle when you talk about it," confesses Annabelle, shyly. "I wanted to be a part of that world of yours and learn for you. I'm truly sorry for being unable to live up to your expectations. But if it's okay with you, I'm content with just sitting on the sides and watch you train. King Edmund is correct, I am not the type who enjoys participating in such things. Please excuse my bluntness." Her apologetic face hits Peter in the heart. He's been asking this for quite some time, but he can't help but ask again. Can she get any more perfect than she already is?

"You are not at fault," Edmund comforts. "My brother is for not being able to understand girls well." He chuckles, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Then... if you truly are fine with it, you are welcome to come watch our training sessions anytime you'd like," Peter states, smiling slightly. "Lady Yuki usually trains with us and her army, but today she is guarding Lucy and Prince Corin. I'll invite my sisters also to keep you company."

"I can't possibly impose on the queens in such a way!" gasps Annabelle, politely declining.

"Nonsense, Lucy would love to chat with you," Edmund replies. "She thinks you are a delight. So do not worry about such trivial matters."

"Come, it is nearly time for dinner," Peter reminds them. "Susan will have our heads if we are late." The three head into the dining room, where Susan, Lucy, Prince Corin, King Lune, and some of the other nobles are already at the table waiting for them.

"Peter, Edmund, you two are on time for once," Susan jokes. Her eyes glance at Anabelle, who is being led by the hand by Peter. "And I assume this is due to Lady Annabelle's good influence." Peter and Annabelle blush slightly at her comment and quickly walk to their seats.

"I apologize for my lateness," Peter says to King Lune. "You are returning tomorrow, are you not?"

"Yes, I hope you are able to see us off," King Lune requests. "Of course, Sir Colin will stay longer in Narnia if your highnesses allow him."

"We'd love his company," Susan beams happily.

"Where is Yuki?" asks Edmund, scanning the table.

"I do not know," answers Lucy. "Sir Colin went to fetch her but they sure are taking a while aren't they?"

"If my brother stays, would it be alright if I stay also?" asks Lady Cassandra, glaring at Annabelle. The four Pevensies glance at each other with fear. If Lady Cassandra stays, it would be hell for all of them.

"I believe two guests are asking much of the kings and queens already," Cassandra's father quickly blurts. "Your brother is to stay to help the Guardian learn how to wield her wand. You are of no use to the kings or queens, you would only trouble them." His harsh words cause Cassandra to flush with embarrassment.

"I apologize, Lady Cassandra," Peter adds, trying to soften her father's blow. "But we are very busy these months, training our troops, starting the country again, and such matters. I hope you understand." His eyes make their way to the clock before he speaks again. "I shall go fetch Lady Yuki and Sir Colin, please start your dinners ahead." Before he could leave, Edmund grabs his arm.

"Wait, Peter," he stops. "I'll go get them. You are High King, your presence is required for tonight, especially in respect for King Lune."

"He's right, you know," Lucy agrees. "You should stay, Peter."

"A-alright," stutters Peter. "I'll leave them in your hands. Thank you, Edmund." He leans closer to his brother to make sure no one else can hear him. "And make sure they aren't up to anything... funny." Peter goes back to his seat blushing, allowing Edmund to leave the room with an amused smirk.

"I knew you feel something towards Yuki," Edmund whispers to himself. "Now what's taking them so long?" He wanders through the halls until he reaches Yuki's room. "Yuki? Are you ready for dinner?" He knocks softly on her door. When he hears no response, he walks in. Edmund looks at the scene before him; Yuki lies in her bed, sleeping as Colin sits beside her and strokes her hair. While it was an innocent scene, Edmund feels something in him stir.

"King Edmund!" gasps Colin, jumping to his feet. Edmund quickly shushes him, telling him to be quiet so they do not wake up their Guardian. The two walk outside of her door and Edmund shuts it quietly. "I apologize for my rudeness! But I swear I wasn't going to do anything to her!"

"It is alright," Edmund stops him, slightly suspicious since Colin got defensive so fast. "You took a while to escort Yuki to dinner so I went to find you two."

"Thank you for your kindness, and again, I apologize for my rudeness," Colin repeats. "It's just when I got there, Lady Yu-" He is cut off by Edmund who voices his concern.

"What are your intentions with Yuki?" asks Edmund, using his king voice. "She is a precious friend of mine and I would not hesitate to act if you harbor ill thoughts toward her." Colin flushes at Edmund's bluntness in the question.

"I-I harbor no ill thoughts, your grace," Colin answers carefully.

"Then I apologize for _my _rudeness. But if I may ask, what do you feel for Yuki then?" Edmund persists. "Do you perhaps have feelings for her?" Trying to make him more comfortable, Edmund looses his stiff posture from earlier and speaks to Colin with a joking tone. "I mean, it's fine if you do, but there are a few of us who are trying to get her and my brother together."

"I do like her," Colin confesses bravely. "And pardon me saying so, but doesn't your brother show interest in Lady Annabelle more than Yuki?" He couldn't help but feel more scared since the Just King changed his manners from scary to childlike so quickly. What's next? Killer? If so, he better word his thoughts properly.

"Ah! You've gotten past the title for Yuki's name!" Edmund continues teasing. "A sign that you are a worthy opponent for my brother. Alas, you are correct, at the moment my brother is occupied with Lady Annabelle. However, I have great confidence that he will one day turn towards our Yuki and return her feelings!" Colin lets out a disappointed sigh.

"King Edmund, with all due respect," he starts, beginning to become fed up. "Ever since I've admitted my feelings for Yuki, all everyone ever says to me is that she and King Peter will end up together. It's fine that all of you support him, but when he's not even fighting for her heart, how is that fair? King Peter is obviously falling for Lady Annabelle and yes, right now Yuki holds a torch for King Peter. Despite that, you all support her. So how come no one gives me a single ounce of support? I do not need a huge push like you all give Yuki, but all anyone does is discourage me!" Colin finally lets out his anger after holding back for so long. His eyes widen when he remembers who he's talking to. "K-King Edmund, I apologize. I forgot my place."

"No," Edmund stops him. "You're right. I'm sorry, I never looked at things that way. I do want Peter to be the one who Yuki ends up with, but you're right. If you truly care for her while Peter is too blind, then I'll support both of you."

"My king?" asks Colin, confused.

"I am the Just King," reminds Edmund. "So I shall be just, and support the one who deserves it more. Sir Colin! From this day on, I shall support you both until Yuki makes her choice! Now come on! We should go eat dinner before the Gentle Queen becomes not-so-gentle."

"I will wake Yuki," Colin states, but is stopped by Edmund.

"It is fine," says Edmund. "I'll have someone send her dinner. Let her rest for tonight."


End file.
